Iron and vitamin status biomarkers and its association with physical fitness in adolescents: the HELENA study

There is a lack of studies that analyze the association between micronutrient-related biomarker status and physical fitness in adolescents. In the present study, biochemical parameters for iron and vitamin status were studied, along with objective measures of physical fitness in healthy male and female European adolescents. One thousand eighty-nine adolescents (580 girls, 12.5-17.5 yr) from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) cross-sectional study were included. Hierarchical linear models were performed to determine the associations between micronutrient biomarkers and physical fitness. Age, seasonality, latitude, body mass index, menarche (in girls), and physical activity were used as covariates. For cardiorespiratory fitness, concentrations of hemoglobin, retinol, and vitamin C in male adolescents and β-carotene and 25(OH)D in female adolescents were associated with maximal oxygen consumption. For muscular fitness, concentrations of hemoglobin, β-carotene, retinol, and α-tocopherol in male adolescents and β-carotene and 25(OH)D in female adolescents were associated with better performance of the standing long jump test. In summary, concentrations of hemoglobin and most antioxidant vitamins in male adolescents and β-carotene and 25(OH)D in female adolescents were positively associated with cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, after controlling for relevant confounders. The associations between physical fitness and iron or vitamin status observed in this cross-sectional study in adolescents should be followed up by a study specifically designed to evaluate causal relationships.     

Oviposition pattern of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) under different temperatures

The daily reproductive rate of Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) fed with Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae was studied at constant temperatures of 20, 23, 25, 28, 30 and 33±0.2°C, relative humidity of 60±10% and photoperiod of L:D 14:10. Daily reproductive rate of P. nigripinus was affected by age of this predator. Each P. nigrispinus female laid 5.3 (20°C) to 19.9 eggs/day (28°C) which developed into 4.3–16.5 nymphs, respectively. Highest daily reproductive rate of P. nigrispinus was recorded at 28 and 30°C for 5–30-day-old females. This predator showed higher daily reproductive rate than its prey A. argillacea at 25°C. It was also able to reproduce at temperatures from 20 to 33°C with maximum daily reproductive rate between 25 and 30°C. These results are important for optimizing mass rearing of P. nigrispinus in the laboratory.     

Physical structure and genetic expression of the sulfonamide-resistance plasmid pLS80 and its derivatives in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bacillus subtilis

Summary The 10-kb chromosomal fragment of Streptococus pneumoniae cloned in pLS80 contains the sul-d allele of the pneumococcal gene for dihydropteroate synthase. As a single copy in the chromosome this allele confers resistance to sulfanilamide at 0.2 mg/ml; in the multicopy plasmid it confers resistance to 2.0 mg/ml. The sul-d mutation was mapped by restriction analysis to a 0.4-kb region. By the mechanism of chromosomal facilitation, in which the chromosome restores information to an entering plasmid fragment, a BamHI fragment missing the sul-d region of pLS80 established the full-sized plasmid, but with the sul-s allele of the recipient chromosome.A spontaneous deletion beginning 1.5 kb to the right of the sul-d mutation prevented gene function, possibly by removing a promoter. This region could be restored by chromosomal facilitation and be demonstrated in the plasmid by selection for sulfonamide resistance. Under selection for a vector marker, tetracycline resistance, only the deleted plasmid was detectable, apparently as a result of plasmid segregation and the advantageous growth rates of cells with smaller plasmids. When such cells were selected for sulfonamide resistance, the deleted region returned to the plasmid, presumably by equilibration between the chromosome and the plasmid pool, to give a low frequency (10^-3) of cells resistant to sulfanilamide at 2.0 mg/ml. Models for the mechanisms of chromosomal facilitation and equilibration are proposed.Several derivatives of pLS80 could be transferred to Bacillus subtilis, where they conferred resistance to sulfanil-amide at 2 mg/ml, thereby demonstrating cross-species expression of the pneumococcal gene. Transfer of the plasmids to B. subtilis gave rise to large deletions to the left of the sul-d marker, but these deletions did not interfere with the sul-d gene function. Restriction maps of pLS80 and its variously deleted derivatives are presented.