Malnutrition affects body growth, size, and composition of children. Yet, few functional biomarkers are known to be associated with childhood morphology.
This cross-sectional study examined ...associations of anthropometric indicators of height, musculature, and fat mass with plasma proteins by using proteomics in a population cohort of school-aged Nepalese children.
Height, weight, midupper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps and subscapular skinfolds, upper arm muscle area (AMA), and arm fat area (AFA) were assessed in 500 children 6-8 y of age. Height-for-age
scores (HAZs), weight-for-age
scores (WAZs), and body mass index-for-age
scores (BAZs) were derived from the WHO growth reference. Relative protein abundance was quantified by using tandem mass spectrometry. Protein-anthropometry associations were evaluated by linear mixed-effects models and identified as having a false discovery rate (
) <5%.
Among 982 proteins, 1, 10, 14, and 17 proteins were associated with BAZ, HAZ, MUAC, and AMA, respectively (
< 0.05). Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, 2 IGF-binding proteins, and carnosinase-1 were associated with both HAZ and AMA. Proteins involved in nutrient transport, activation of innate immunity, and bone mineralization were associated with HAZ. Several extracellular matrix proteins were positively associated with AMA alone. The proteomes of MUAC and AMA substantially overlapped, whereas no proteins were associated with AFA or triceps and subscapular skinfolds. Myosin light-chain kinase, possibly reflecting leakage from muscle, was inversely associated with BAZ. The proteome of WAZ was the largest (
= 33) and most comprehensive, including proteins involved in neural development and oxidative stress response, among others.
Plasma proteomics confirmed known biomarkers of childhood growth and revealed novel proteins associated with lean mass in chronically undernourished children. Identified proteins may serve as candidates for assessing growth and nutritional status of children in similar undernourished settings. The antenatal micronutrient supplementation trial yielding the study cohort of children was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00115271.
Fishes belonging to the family Clinidae in South Africa display super‐embryonation, a rare reproductive mode were females gestate broods at different gestational stages, but little is known regarding ...the mating systems of this family. Here we tested the hypothesis that multiple males would contribute not only to the offspring of each female, but that several males would contribute to each brood, by sampling Muraenoclinus dorsalis from three sampling locations along the west and south‐west coast of South Africa. Larval (n = 97) and maternal (n = 14) genotpyes, generated with newly developed microsatellites, were used to estimate the number of potential mates per female. Our results show that up to 78% of females displayed multiple mating with an average of 2·1–2·2 males. In addition, 39–42% of females displayed polyandry with an average of 1·5–1·6 sires per brood. This study provides the evidence for multiple mating and polyandry within a clinid fish characterized by super‐embryonation that offers important baseline information regarding rare reproductive strategies, highlighting several gaps in our knowledge concerning clinid reproduction and mating systems.
In this article, we present results of a detailed real-time X-ray diffraction (XRD) study on the formation of CuInSe2 from electroplated precursors. The solid-state reactions observed during the ...selenisation of three different types of precursors are presented. The first type of precursors (I) consists of the nanocrystalline phases Cu2-xSe and InSe at room temperature, which react to CuInSe2 starting at 470K. The second type of precursor (II) shows an inhibited CuInSe2 formation out of the initial phases Cu2-xSe and gamma-In2Se3 starting at 400K. The third precursor type (III) shows completely different selenisation behaviour. Starting from the intermetallic compound Cu11In9 and amorphous selenium, the formation of the binary selenides In4Se3 and CuSe is observed after the melting point of selenium at 494K. After selenium transfer reactions, the compound semiconductor CuInSe2 is formed out of Cu2-xSe and InSe. This type (III) reaction path is well known for the selenisation of SEL precursors (stacked elemental layers of sputtered copper and indium and thermally evaporated selenium).
Classical neutrophil-reactive antibody testing depends on the quick isolation of neutrophils from freshly taken whole blood. To allow a better logistic preparation before testing, the influence of ...time interval between venipuncture and cell isolation has been evaluated in this study.
Neutrophils and whole leukocytes were isolated from EDTA whole blood immediately (T0) as well as 4, 8 and 24 h after blood donation (T4, T8 and T24). These cells were tested against reference sera containing antibodies against HNA-1b, −2, −3a and HLA class I using granulocyte aggregation test (GAT), microscopic granulocyte immunofluorescence test (GIFT) and flow-cytometric white blood cell immunofluorescence test (Flow-GIFT/WIFT).
GAT was the most error-prone test displaying overall weaker aggregation strengths already at T4 (overall accuracy OA = 0.72, κ = 0.58). GIFT results showed good agreement at T4 (OA = 0.86, κ = 0.79) and remained stable until T8, while test results were slightly impaired at T24 (OA = 0.71, κ = 0.55). Flow-GIFT/WIFT was identified as the most robust screening method, remaining stable even at T24. Calculated ratios (sample/negative control) decreased non-significantly and remained highly above the cut-off in all samples.
Acceptable time limits for cell isolation are different for each screening method investigated. For GAT, cell isolation should be performed within 4 h, while GIFT tolerates a neutrophil isolation delay of 8 h. Flow-GIFT/WIFT isolation can be performed even after 24 h without impairment of the results. Using the latter test as a stand-alone pre-screening test, whole blood can be used from donors who are not directly accessible.
Aims/hypothesis The aim was to identify type 2 diabetes susceptibility regions in 250 German families. Subjects and methods We conducted a genome-wide linkage scan using 439 short tandem repeat ...polymorphisms at an average resolution of 7.76 ± 3.80 cM (Marshfield). In an affected-only-design (affected sib pairs), we performed nonparametric multipoint linkage analyses. Conditional analyses were applied where linkage signals were found in the baseline analyses. Results We identified two loci with nominal evidence for linkage on chromosomes 1p36.13 and 16p12.2 (D1S3669, 37.05 cM, logarithmic odds ratio LOD = 1.49, p = 0.004; D16S403, 43.89 cM, LOD = 1.85, p = 0.002). D16S403 crossed the empirically obtained threshold of genome-wide suggestive significance of LOD = 1.51. Positive findings in those regions have been reported by the following other linkage studies on: (1) symptomatic/clinical gall bladder disease with type 2 diabetes in Mexican Americans from the San Antonio Family Diabetes/Gallbladder Study (LOD = 3.7, D1S1597-D1S407, 29.93-33.75 cM); (2) body size-adiposity in another Mexican American population (D1S1597, LOD = 2.53, 29.93 cM); (3) lipid abnormalities (LOD = 3.1, D1S2826-D1S513, 41.92-60.01 cM); and (4) hypertension in Australian sib pairs (LOD = 3.1, D1S2834-D1S2728, 31.02-33.75 cM); as well as (5) a meta-analysis of four European type 2 diabetes-related genome scans (LOD = 1.09, D16S412, 42.81 cM). In linkage analyses conditional on evidence for linkage at D16S403 we identified a LOD increase (ΔLOD) of 1.55 (p = 0.0075) at D17S2180. Similar conditioning on D17S2180 revealed evidence for interaction with D1S3669 (ΔLOD = 1.67, p = 0.0055), D16S403 (ΔLOD = 1.48, p = 0.0091) and another locus on chromosome 1 where several genome scans have reported evidence for linkage (~200 cM, ΔLOD = 1.60, p = 0.0066). Conclusions/interpretation Our results and the findings of other studies are consistent with the presence of a locus for a complex metabolic syndrome on chromosome 1p36.13.
A new diode technology called Emitter Controlled (EC)-HDR (High Dynamic Robustness) that allows a pronounced enhancement in switching safe-operating area has been developed. For the first time, the ...concept used for this drastic improvement is presented. The same principle has been applied to the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT).
Adiponectin, which is encoded by the ADIPOQ gene, has been shown to modulate insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis. Plasma adiponectin levels are decreased in type 2 diabetes and obesity. ...Genetic variations within the ADIPOQ gene are associated with decreased adiponectin hormone levels. To analyze specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their association with T2D, 365 German subjects with T2D and 323 control subjects were screened. Three common SNPs - +45T>G in exon 2, and 2 promoter variants SNPs -11391G>A and -11377C>G - were analyzed. We found that the variant allele of SNP -11391G>A was significantly more frequent in the diabetic patient group than in the control group (p=0.003). Carrying the haplotype of SNP -11391A and SNP -11377C was associated with a 1.50-fold (p=0.03) increase in diabetes risk. The combination of the A-C haplotype and the G-C haplotype was associated with significantly elevated diabetes risk (OR=2.82 (95% CI: 1.35-5.91), p=0.006) after correction for BMI and age. Our observations suggest that diploid combinations of haplotype in the adiponectin gene promoter region contribute to the genetic risk of T2D in individuals from a German Caucasian population.
Maximum mass of neutron stars Schulze, H.-J.; Polls, A.; Ramos, A. ...
Physical review. C, Nuclear physics,
05/2006, Letnik:
73, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
We determine the structure of neutron stars within a Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach based on realistic nucleon-nucleon, nucleon-hyperon, and hyperon-hyperon interactions. Our results indicate rather ...low maximum masses below 1.4 solar masses. This feature is insensitive to the nucleonic part of the EOS due to a strong compensation mechanism caused by the appearance of hyperons and represents thus strong evidence for the presence of nonbaryonic "quark" matter in the interior of heavy stars.
Controversy still surrounds the question whether yeasts found in the gut are causally related to disease, constitute a health hazard, or require treatment.
The authors present the state of knowledge ...in this area on the basis of a selective review of articles retrieved by a PubMed search from 2005 onward. The therapeutic recommendations follow the current national and international guidelines.
Yeasts, mainly Candida species, are present in the gut of about 70% of healthy adults. Mucocutaneous Candida infections are due either to impaired host defenses or to altered gene expression in formerly commensal strains. The expression of virulence factors enables yeasts to form biofilms, destroy tissues, and escape the immunological attacks of the host. Yeast infections of the intestinal mucosa are of uncertain clinical significance, and their possible connection to irritable bowel syndrome, while plausible, remains unproved. Yeast colonization can trigger allergic reactions. Mucosal yeast infections are treated with topically active polyene antimycotic drugs. The adjuvant administration of probiotics is justified on the basis of positive results from controlled clinical trials.
The eradication of intestinal yeasts is advised only for certain clearly defined indications.
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