In the last decade, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has reemerged as an analytical separation technique, especially due to the commercialization of ion mobility mass spectrometers. Its applicability ...has been extended beyond classical applications such as the determination of chemical warfare agents and nowadays it is widely used for the characterization of biomolecules (e.g., proteins, glycans, lipids, etc.) and, more recently, of small molecules (e.g., metabolites, xenobiotics, etc.). Following this trend, the interest in this technique is growing among researchers from different fields including food science. Several advantages are attributed to IMS when integrated in traditional liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometry (MS) workflows: (1) it improves method selectivity by providing an additional separation dimension that allows the separation of isobaric and isomeric compounds; (2) it increases method sensitivity by isolating the compounds of interest from background noise; (3) and it provides complementary information to mass spectra and retention time, the so-called collision cross section (CCS), so compounds can be identified with more confidence, either in targeted or non-targeted approaches. In this context, the number of applications focused on food analysis has increased exponentially in the last few years. This review provides an overview of the current status of IMS technology and its applicability in different areas of food analysis (i.e., food composition, process control, authentication, adulteration and safety).
Ion mobility spectrometry enhances the performance characteristics of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry workflows intended to steroid profiling by providing a new separation dimension and a ...novel characterization parameter, the so-called collision cross section (CCS). This work proposes the first CCS database for 300 steroids (i.e., endogenous, including phase I and phase II metabolites, and exogenous synthetic compounds), which involves 1080 ions and covers the CCS of 127 androgens, 84 estrogens, 50 corticosteroids, and 39 progestagens. This large database provides information related to all the ionized species identified for each steroid in positive electrospray ionization mode as well as for estrogens in negative ionization mode. CCS values have been measured using nitrogen as drift gas in the ion mobility cell. Generally, direct correlation exists between mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and CCS because both are related parameters. However, several steroids mainly steroid glucuronides and steroid esters have been characterized as more compact or elongated molecules than expected. In such cases, CCS results in additional relevant information to retention time and mass spectral data for the identification of steroids. Moreover, several isomeric steroid pairs (e.g., 5β-androstane-3,17-dione and 5α-androstane-3,17-dione) have been separated based on their CCS differences. These results indicate that adding the CCS to databases in analytical workflows increases selectivity, thus improving the confidence in steroids analysis. Consequences in terms of identification and quantification are discussed. Quality criteria and a construction of an interlaboratory reproducibility approach are also reported for the obtained CCS values. The CCS database described here is made publicly available.
In this study, the nonanthocyanin (poly)phenolic profile of an alcoholic-fermented strawberry beverage was characterized. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple-quadropole mass ...spectrometer and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a linear trap quadropole and an Orbitrap mass analyzer was used to identify nonanthocyanin phenolic compounds. Sixty-six compounds were identified, and 13 of these were identified for the first time in strawberry or its derived alcoholic fermented beverage: protocatechuic acid-4-O-β-hexoside, brevifolin carboxylic acid, ferulic acid glucuronide, dimer caffeic acid-O-hexoside, luteolin-3′-O-xyloside, isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside, taxifolin-O-glucoside, (+)-aromadendrin rhamnoside, eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside, (+)-taxifolin, (+)-aromadendrin, eriodictyol, and homovanillic acid. The alcoholic fermentation process produced significant increases in certain compounds, such as homovanillic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, while a significant decrease in galloyl bis-HHDP-glucose was observed. Linear discriminant analysis correctly classified samples initial, final, and pasteurized, which led to the conclusion that alcoholic fermentation induces significant changes in composition, mainly in relation to the 19 compounds represented in the tables of this work.
Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by thermal stress caused by climate change. Especially devastating periods of coral loss frequently occur during El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events ...originating in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). El Niño‐induced thermal stress is considered the primary threat to ETP coral reefs. An increase in the frequency and intensity of ENSO events predicted in the coming decades threatens a pan‐tropical collapse of coral reefs. During the 1982–1983 El Niño, most reefs in the Galapagos Islands collapsed, and many more in the region were decimated by massive coral bleaching and mortality. However, after repeated thermal stress disturbances, such as those caused by the 1997–1998 El Niño, ETP corals reefs have demonstrated regional persistence and resiliency. Using a 44 year dataset (1970–2014) of live coral cover from the ETP, we assess whether ETP reefs exhibit the same decline as seen globally for other reefs. Also, we compare the ETP live coral cover rate of change with data from the maximum Degree Heating Weeks experienced by these reefs to assess the role of thermal stress on coral reef survival. We find that during the period 1970–2014, ETP coral cover exhibited temporary reductions following major ENSO events, but no overall decline. Further, we find that ETP reef recovery patterns allow coral to persist under these El Niño‐stressed conditions, often recovering from these events in 10–15 years. Accumulative heat stress explains 31% of the overall annual rate of change of living coral cover in the ETP. This suggests that ETP coral reefs have adapted to thermal extremes to date, and may have the ability to adapt to near‐term future climate‐change thermal anomalies. These findings for ETP reef resilience may provide general insights for the future of coral reef survival and recovery elsewhere under intensifying El Niño scenarios.
El Niño is the main threat to coral reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), but it is unknown if the coral cover decreases in the long term due to El Niño‐induced thermal stress. Based on a 44 year time‐series analysis of live coral cover (1970–2014), we determine that, unlike in the Caribbean and the Indo‐Pacific, coral reefs in the ETP do not show a long‐term decline. Our analysis indicates that ETP coral reefs show recovery patterns of 10–15 years, allowing them to persist under El Niño‐stressed conditions. We explore some possible explanations for this resilience to thermal stress.
Most physical and other natural systems are complex entities composed of a large number of interacting individual elements. It is a surprising fact that they often obey the so-called scaling laws ...relating an observable quantity with a measure of the size of the system. Here we describe the discovery of universal superlinear metabolic scaling laws in human cancers. This dependence underpins increasing tumour aggressiveness, due to evolutionary dynamics, which leads to an explosive growth as the disease progresses. We validated this dynamic using longitudinal volumetric data of different histologies from large cohorts of cancer patients. To explain our observations we put forward increasingly-complex biologically-inspired mathematical models that captured the key processes governing tumor growth. Our models predicted that the emergence of superlinear allometric scaling laws is an inherently three-dimensional phenomenon. Moreover, the scaling laws thereby identified allowed us to define a set of metabolic metrics with prognostic value, thus providing added clinical utility to the base findings.
A hydrogen‐bonded cyclic tetramer is assembled with remarkably high effective molarities from a properly designed dinucleoside monomer. This self‐assembled species exhibits an impressive ...thermodynamic and kinetic stability and is formed with high fidelities within a broad concentration range.
Fine design of a dinucleoside monomer leads to hydrogen‐bonded macrocyclic tetramer assemblies with high effective molarities and remarkable thermodynamic and kinetic stability. The behavior of these assemblies in various solvents is discussed.
Seaweeds (marine macroalgae) are autotrophic organisms capable of producing many compounds of interest. For a long time, seaweeds have been seen as a great nutritional resource, primarily in Asian ...countries to later gain importance in Europe and South America, as well as in North America and Australia. It has been reported that edible seaweeds are rich in proteins, lipids and dietary fibers. Moreover, they have plenty of bioactive molecules that can be applied in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic areas. There are historical registers of harvest and cultivation of seaweeds but with the increment of the studies of seaweeds and their valuable compounds, their aquaculture has increased. The methodology of cultivation varies from onshore to offshore. Seaweeds can also be part of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), which has great opportunities but is also very challenging to the farmers. This multidisciplinary field applied to the seaweed aquaculture is very promising to improve the methods and techniques; this area is developed under the denominated industry 4.0.
Summary
The International Prognostic Index (IPI) is the most widely used score for non‐Hodgkin lymphoma but lacks the ability to identify a high‐risk population in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma ...(DLBCL). Low absolute lymphocyte count and high monocytes have proved to be unfavourable factors. Red‐cell distribution width (RDW) has been associated with inflammation and beta‐2 microglobulin (B2M) with tumour load. The retrospective study included 992 patients with DLBCL treated with R‐CHOP. In the multivariate analysis, age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG‐PS), stage, bulky mass, B2M, RDW, and lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR) were independently related to progression‐free survival (PFS). A new prognosis score was generated with these variables including age categorized into three groups (0, 1, 2 points); ECOG ≥ 3–4 with two; stage III/IV, bulky mass, high B2M, LMR < 2·25 and RDW > 0·96 with one each; for a maximum of 9. This score could improve the discrimination of a very high‐risk subgroup with five‐year PFS and overall survival (OS) of 19% and 24% versus 45% and 59% of R (revised)‐IPI respectively. This score also showed greater predictive ability than IPI. A new score is presented including complete blood cell count variables and B2M, which are readily available in real‐life practice without additional tests. Compared to R‐IPI, it shows a more precise high‐risk assessment and risk discrimination for both PFS and OS.
Innate immunity conferred by the type I interferon is critical for antiviral defense. To date only a limited number of tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins have been implicated in modulation of innate ...immunity and anti-microbial activity. Here we report the complementary DNA cloning and systematic analysis of all known 75 human TRIMs. We demonstrate that roughly half of the 75 TRIM-family members enhanced the innate immune response and that they do this at multiple levels in signaling pathways. Moreover, messenger RNA levels and localization of most of these TRIMs were found to be altered during viral infection, suggesting that their regulatory activities are highly controlled at both pre- and posttranscriptional levels. Taken together, our data demonstrate a very considerable dedication of this large protein family to the positive regulation of the antiviral response, which supports the notion that this family of proteins evolved as a component of innate immunity.
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▸ Nearly half of all 75 TRIM protein family members are innate immune enhancers ▸ TRIM mRNA expression and protein localization are complexly regulated during infection ▸ TRIMs confer differential regulation in distinct innate immune signaling pathways
The most prevalent diseases of our time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer) are rising worldwide. All of them ...share the condition of an "inflammatory disorder", with impaired immune functions frequently caused or accompanied by alterations in gut microbiota. These multifactorial maladies also have in common malnutrition related to physiopathology. In this context, diet is the greatest modulator of immune system-microbiota crosstalk, and much interest, and new challenges, are arising in the area of precision nutrition as a way towards treatment and prevention. It is a fact that the westernized diet (WD) is partly responsible for the increased prevalence of NCDs, negatively affecting both gut microbiota and the immune system. Conversely, other nutritional approaches, such as Mediterranean diet (MD), positively influence immune system and gut microbiota, and is proposed not only as a potential tool in the clinical management of different disease conditions, but also for prevention and health promotion globally. Thus, the purpose of this review is to determine the regulatory role of nutritional components of WD and MD in the gut microbiota and immune system interplay, in order to understand, and create awareness of, the influence of diet over both key components.
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