Breastfeeding and Bone Mass at the Ages of 18 and 30: Prospective Analysis of Live Births from the Pelotas (Brazil) 1982 and 1993 Cohorts

Objective

To evaluate the effect of total breastfeeding, breastfeeding duration and type of breastfeeding at 3 months of age on bone mass at 18 and 30 years.

Study Design

A prospective, longitudinal study was conducted with two birth cohorts (1982 and 1993) in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Measurements of bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) at 18 and 30 years of age were obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Information on breastfeeding was collected during the first 4 years of life. Analyses were performed by linear regression and stratified by sex.

Results

A total of 1109 and 3226 participants provided complete information on breastfeeding in early life and bone mass at 18 and 30 years, respectively. No association between breastfeeding and bone mass was observed in women at both ages nor among men at age 30. Among men at the age of 18, BMC and BMD were higher among those breastfed regardless of duration (p=0.032 and p=0.043, respectively).

Conclusions

Despite a very weak positive effect of breastfeeding (yes/no) on BMC and BMD at age 18 in men, most findings pointed to a lack of association between breastfeeding and bone mass until young adulthood.     

Real-time monitoring of PCR amplification of proto-oncogene c-MYC using a Ta₂O₅ electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensor

We present a new approach for real-time monitoring of PCR amplification of a specific sequence from the human c-MYC proto-oncogene using a Ta(2)O(5) electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) sensor. The response of the fabricated EIS sensor to cycle DNA amplification was evaluated and compared to standard SYBR-green fluorescence incorporation, showing it was possible to detect DNA concentration variations with 30 mV/μM sensitivity. The sensor's response was then optimized to follow in real-time the PCR amplification of c-MYC sequence from a genomic DNA sample attaining an amplification profile comparable to that of a standard real-time PCR. Owing to the small size, ease of fabrication and low-cost, the developed Ta(2)O(5) sensor may be incorporated onto a microfluidic device and then used for real-time PCR. Our approach may circumvent the practical and economical obstacles posed by current platforms that require an external fluorescence detector difficult to miniaturize and incorporate into a lab-on-chip system.     

Crystal structures of the free and sterol-bound forms of beta-cinnamomin

The crystal structure of the elicitin beta-cinnamomin (beta-CIN) was determined in complex with ergosterol at 1.1 A resolution. beta-CIN/ergosterol complex crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2(1), with unit cell parameters of a = 31.0, b = 62.8, c = 50.0 A and beta = 93.4 degrees and two molecules in the asymmetric unit. Ligand extraction with chloroform followed by crystallographic analysis yielded a 1.35 A structure of beta-CIN (P4(3)2(1)2 space group) where the characteristic elicitin fold was kept. After incubation with cholesterol, a new complex structure was obtained, showing that the protein retains, after the extraction procedure, its ability to complex sterols. The necrotic effect of beta-CIN on tobacco was also shown to remain unchanged. Theoretical docking studies of the triterpene lupeol to beta-CIN provided an explanation for the apparent inability of beta-CIN to bind this ligand, as observed experimentally.     

Residues of thiamethoxam, aldicarb and its metabolites in coffee leaves and effect on the control of Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Mèneville) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae)

The coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Mèneville), one of the major pests of coffee crops in Brazil, is mainly controlled with insecticides. The objective of this study was to evaluate the residues and the translocation of the insecticide thiamethoxam in coffee leaves, as well as to study its effect on the coffee leaf miner control, comparing it with aldicarb, used as standard. One experiment was set up in the county of Gar?a, SP from December/2001 to August/2002. The treatments used were: aldicarb 150 G at the rates of 2.25 and 4.50 g a.i./pit, thiamethoxam 10 GR, at the rates of 0.15 and 0.30 g a.i./pit and check. Twig samples were collected prior to and 30 , 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210 and 240 days after the application, at three coffee plant heights (lower, middle and upper third), and the percentage of mined leaves was evaluated. The determination of aldicarb residues, including their sulphoxide and sulfone metabolites and of thiamethoxam were performed by gas chromatography with a nitrogen-phosphorus and mass spectrometer detectors, respectively. The results indicated a uniform translocation of both insecticides in all three thirds of the coffee plants when applied to the soil. A higher persistence of thiamethoxam was verified with its residues being found for as far long as eight months following the application, while aldicarb residues, including the sulphoxide and sulfone metabolites, were found only until four to six months after the application. Control of the coffee leaf miner was observed with both insecticides.     

Effect of calcineurin inhibitors on myotoxic activity of crotoxin and Bothrops asper phospholipase A2 myotoxins in vivo and in vitro

Previous studies have shown that calcineurin activity plays a critical role in the myotoxic activity induced by crotoxin (CTX), a group II phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) with neurotoxic and myotoxic actions. In order to address whether calcineurin is also important for the activity of non-neurotoxic group II PLA(2) myotoxins we have compared the effects of calcineurin inhibition on the myotoxic capacity of CTX and the non-neurotoxic PLA(2)s, myotoxin II (Mt II) and myotoxin III (Mt III) from Bothrops asper venom. Rats were treated with cyclosporin A (CsA) or FK506, calcineurin inhibitors, and received an intramuscular injection of either CTX, Mt II or Mt III into the tibialis anterior. Animals were killed 24 h after injection of toxins. Tibialis anterior was removed and stored in liquid nitrogen. Myofibers in culture were also treated with CsA or FK506 and exposed to CTX, Mt II and Mt III. It was observed that, in contrast to CTX, CsA and FK506 do not attenuate myotoxic effects induced by both Mt II and Mt III in vivo and in vitro. The results of the present study suggest that calcineurin is not essential for the myotoxic activity of Mt II and Mt III, indicating that distinct intracellular pathways might be involved in myonecrosis induced by neurotoxic CTX and non-neurotoxic Bothrops sp. PLA(2) myotoxins. Alternatively, calcineurin dependent fast fiber type shift might render the muscle resistant to the action of CTX, without affecting its susceptibility to Bothrops sp. myotoxins.     

What’s for dinner? Assessing the value of an edible invasive species and outreach actions to promote its consumption

Biological Invasions - The consumption of edible aquatic invasive species has gained popularity as a means to minimize their impacts while easing pressure on native resources and ecosystems....     

Distribution of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) throughout the Iberian Peninsula based on a maximum entropy modelling approach

The Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) is a great production area of olives. The fruit production can be severely affected by the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) (Diptera). Detailed geographical distribution maps of key pests, such as B. oleae, are essential for their integrated management. Although different sources reporting the occurrence of B. oleae are available for sub-regions of Portugal and Spain, the data available are dispersed and centralisation of this information considering the Iberian Peninsula as a faunistic geographical unit is currently lacking. In this work, we built two distribution maps of B. oleae throughout the Iberian Peninsula, one based on occurrence sites and another based on its bioclimatic habitat suitability. After modelling the bioclimatic suitability of B. oleae using a maximum entropy model, three potential distribution areas beyond the previously known occurrence range of the olive fruit fly were identified corresponding to the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), the Spanish and Portuguese sides of the International Douro Natural Park, and the autonomous community of Castilla y León (Spain). Interestingly, each region houses nowadays autochthonous olive cultivars. The drivers that most contributed to the model were the precipitation of the coldest quarter and the precipitation of driest month which agrees with the B. oleae bioecology. Although our approach is not fully-comprehensive in terms of occurrence sites, we show how a maxent modelling approach can be useful to identify potential risk areas of B. oleae occurrence throughout a target geographical extent such as the Iberian Peninsula.     

Coastal upwelling supplies oxygen-depleted water to the Columbia River estuary

Low dissolved oxygen (DO) is a common feature of many estuarine and shallow-water environments, and is often attributed to anthropogenic nutrient enrichment from terrestrial-fluvial pathways. However, recent events in the U.S. Pacific Northwest have highlighted that wind-forced upwelling can cause naturally occurring low DO water to move onto the continental shelf, leading to mortalities of benthic fish and invertebrates. Coastal estuaries in the Pacific Northwest are strongly linked to ocean forcings, and here we report observations on the spatial and temporal patterns of oxygen concentration in the Columbia River estuary. Hydrographic measurements were made from transect (spatial survey) or anchor station (temporal survey) deployments over a variety of wind stresses and tidal states during the upwelling seasons of 2006 through 2008. During this period, biologically stressful levels of dissolved oxygen were observed to enter the Columbia River estuary from oceanic sources, with minimum values close to the hypoxic threshold of 2.0 mg L(-1). Riverine water was consistently normoxic. Upwelling wind stress controlled the timing and magnitude of low DO events, while tidal-modulated estuarine circulation patterns influenced the spatial extent and duration of exposure to low DO water. Strong upwelling during neap tides produced the largest impact on the estuary. The observed oxygen concentrations likely had deleterious behavioral and physiological consequences for migrating juvenile salmon and benthic crabs. Based on a wind-forced supply mechanism, low DO events are probably common to the Columbia River and other regional estuaries and if conditions on the shelf deteriorate further, as observations and models predict, Pacific Northwest estuarine habitats could experience a decrease in environmental quality.     

Diabetes Alters KIF1A and KIF5B Motor Proteins in the Hippocampus

Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder in humans. Diabetic encephalopathy is characterized by cognitive and memory impairments, which have been associated with changes in the hippocampus, but the mechanisms underlying those impairments triggered by diabetes, are far from being elucidated. The disruption of axonal transport is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases and might also play a role in diabetes-associated disorders affecting nervous system. We investigated the effect of diabetes (2 and 8 weeks duration) on KIF1A, KIF5B and dynein motor proteins, which are important for axonal transport, in the hippocampus. The mRNA expression of motor proteins was assessed by qRT-PCR, and also their protein levels by immunohistochemistry in hippocampal slices and immunoblotting in total extracts of hippocampus from streptozotocin-induced diabetic and age-matched control animals. Diabetes increased the expression and immunoreactivity of KIF1A and KIF5B in the hippocampus, but no alterations in dynein were detected. Since hyperglycemia is considered a major player in diabetic complications, the effect of a prolonged exposure to high glucose on motor proteins, mitochondria and synaptic proteins in hippocampal neurons was also studied, giving particular attention to changes in axons. Hippocampal cell cultures were exposed to high glucose (50 mM) or mannitol (osmotic control; 25 mM plus 25 mM glucose) for 7 days. In hippocampal cultures incubated with high glucose no changes were detected in the fluorescence intensity or number of accumulations related with mitochondria in the axons of hippocampal neurons. Nevertheless, high glucose increased the number of fluorescent accumulations of KIF1A and synaptotagmin-1 and decreased KIF5B, SNAP-25 and synaptophysin immunoreactivity specifically in axons of hippocampal neurons. These changes suggest that anterograde axonal transport mediated by these kinesins may be impaired in hippocampal neurons, which may lead to changes in synaptic proteins, thus contributing to changes in hippocampal neurotransmission and to cognitive and memory impairments.