The palatability of flavoured novel floating pellets made with brewer's spent grain to captive carp

Abstract

The palatability to common carp, Cyprinus carpio L. of three newly developed differently flavoured floating pellets made from a high proportion (40%) of brewer's spent grain (BSG) was tested using a multiple-offer feeding experiment. The addition of ‘bold’ flavours, such as vanilla or strawberry essence, may help mask the unpleasant taste of some piscicides; however, their inclusion must not compromise uptake by carp. There were no significant differences between the consumption rates of the three varieties, and all flavours were readily consumed. Therefore, it is suggested that highly flavoured pellets made with BSG have a strong potential to mask the flavour of an unpalatable toxin, and further research is now needed to test this hypothesis.     

Mass spectrometric analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue: unlocking the proteome within

The predominance of tissues stored worldwide in hospitals and clinical laboratories exist in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks that are generated by simple and well-established protocols. Although generation of FFPE tissues has facilitated their characterization by such techniques as histopathology, they have proven refractory to biomarker discovery investigations using state-of-the-art MS-based proteomic methodologies. Very recently new methods have been developed that enable proteins extracted from FFPE tissues to be analyzed by MS. This review will highlight and discuss those efforts that have led to this exciting recent progress. Although these developments are quite new, the ability to conduct MS-based proteomic analyses of FFPE tissues opens heretofore intractable clinical samples for discovery-based biomarker research.     

Effects of Nigella sativa on apoptosis and GABAA receptor density in cerebral cortical and hippocampal neurons in pentylenetetrazol induced kindling in rats

We investigated the effects of Nigella sativa on apoptosis and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA_A) receptor density in cerebral cortical and hippocampal neurons in a pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling model in rats. The PTZ kindling model was produced by injecting PTZ in subconvulsive doses to rats on days 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22 and 24 of the study into animals of PTZ treated (PTZ) and PTZ + N. sativa treated (PTZ + NS) groups. Clonic and tonic seizures were induced by injecting a convulsive dose of PTZ on day 26 of the study. Rats in the PTZ + NS group were treated also with a 10 mg/kg methanolic extract of N. sativa 2 h before each PTZ injection. Rats in the control group were treated with 4 ml/kg saline. The number of neurons that expressed GABA_A receptors in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of rats in the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups increased significantly. There was no significant difference in the number of GABA_A receptors between the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups. GABA_A receptor density of the neurons in the cerebral cortex, but not hippocampus, was increased in PTZ group compared to controls. We observed a significant increase in the number of apoptotic neurons in the cerebral cortex of rats of both the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups compared to controls. We observed a significant decrease in the number of the apoptotic neurons in the cerebral cortex of rats in the PTZ + NS group compared to the PTZ group. N. sativa treatment ameliorated the PTZ induced neurodegeneration in the cerebral cortex as reflected by neuronal apoptosis and neuronal GABA_A receptor frequency.     

Detrimental effects of albuterol on airway responsiveness requires airway inflammation and is independent of β-receptor affinity in murine models of asthma

Background

Inhaled short acting β2-agonists (SABA), e.g. albuterol, are used for quick reversal of bronchoconstriction in asthmatics. While SABA are not recommended for maintenance therapy, it is not uncommon to find patients who frequently use SABA over a long period of time and there is a suspicion that long term exposure to SABA could be detrimental to lung function. To test this hypothesis we studied the effect of long-term inhaled albuterol stereoisomers on immediate allergic response (IAR) and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in mouse models of asthma.

Methods

Balb/C mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) and then we studied the IAR to inhaled allergen and the AHR to inhaled methacholine. The mice were pretreated with nebulizations of either racemic (RS)-albuterol or the single isomers (S)- and (R)-albuterol twice daily over 7 days prior to harvest.

Results

We found that all forms of albuterol produced a significant increase of IAR measured as respiratory elastance. Similarly, we found that AHR was elevated by albuterol. At the same time a mouse strain that is intrinsically hyperresponsive (A/J mouse) was not affected by the albuterol isomers nor was AHR induced by epithelial disruption with Poly-L-lysine affected by albuterol.

Conclusions

We conclude that long term inhalation treatment with either isomer of albuterol is capable of precipitating IAR and AHR in allergically inflamed airways but not in intrinsically hyperresponsive mice or immunologically naïve mice. Because (S)-albuterol, which lacks affinity for the β2-receptor, did not differ from (R)-albuterol, we speculate that isomer-independent properties of the albuterol molecule, other than β2-agonism, are responsible for the effect on AHR.     

Standardization of a sample preparation and analytical workflow for proteomics of archival endometrial cancer tissue

The goal of the present study was to establish a standard operating procedure for mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic analysis of laser microdissected (LMD) formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) uterine tissue. High resolution bioimage analysis of a large endometrial cancer tissue microarray immunostained for the breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein enabled precise counting of cells to establish that there is an average of 600 cells/nL of endometrial cancer tissue. We sought to characterize the peptide recovery from various volumes of tissue gathered by LMD and processed/digested using the present methodology. We observed a nearly linear increase in peptide recovery amount with increasing tissue volume dissected. There was little discernible difference in the peptide recovery from stromal versus malignant epithelium, and there was no apparent difference in the day-to-day recovery. This methodology reproducibly results in 100 ng of digested peptides per nL of endometrial tissue, or ～25 pg peptides/endometrial cancer cell. Results from liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS experiments to assess the impact of total peptide load on column on the total number of peptides and proteins identified from FFPE tissue digests prepared with the present methodology indicate a demonstrable increase in the total number of peptides identified up to 1000 ng, beyond which diminishing returns were observed. Furthermore, we observed no impact on the peptide identification rates from analyses of equivalent peptide amounts derived from lower volume LMD samples. These results show that this single-tube collection-to-injection proteomics (CTIP) workflow represents a straightforward, scalable, and highly reliable methodology for sample preparation to enable high throughput LMD-MS analysis of tissues derived from biopsy or surgery.     

Diagnostic and prognostic biomarker discovery strategies for autoimmune disorders

Current clinical, laboratory or radiological parameters cannot accurately diagnose or predict disease outcomes in a range of autoimmune disorders. Biomarkers which can diagnose at an earlier time point, predict outcome or help guide therapeutic strategies in autoimmune diseases could improve clinical management of this broad group of debilitating disorders. Additionally, there is a growing need for a deeper understanding of multi-factorial autoimmune disorders.Proteomic platforms offering a multiplex approach are more likely to reflect the complexity of autoimmune disease processes. Findings from proteomic based studies of three distinct autoimmune diseases are presented and strategies compared. It is the authors' view that such approaches are likely to be fruitful in the movement of autoimmune disease treatment away from reactive decisions and towards a preventative stand point.     

小鼠网织红细胞微观流变学特性的研究

按Bishop方法,在小鼠血液里诱导生成大量网织红细胞,然后提取网织红细胞,对其电泳率、渗透脆性、膜的流动性、细胞的变形能力和取向性进行了系统研究。研究结果表明网织红细胞在转变为成熟红细胞的短短时间内,其微观流变学特性发生了明显的变化：电泳率变小、渗透脆性变好、膜的流动性变大、细胞的变形能力变强、取向性变好,最终发育成具有全面功能的成熟红细胞。