Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Attenuate Obesity and Promote Physical and Metabolic Fitness in Elementary School Children

Obesity and low levels of physical and metabolic fitness are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The purpose of this investigation was to attenuate obesity and improve physical and metabolic fitness in elementary school children. Schools have the opportunity, mechanisms, and personnel in place to deliver nutrition education, fitness activities, and a school food service that is nutritious and healthy. Cohorts from grades 3 to 5 in two school districts in rural Nebraska (Intervention/Control) participated in a 2-year study of physical activity and modified school lunch program. Data collection for aerobic capacity, body composition, blood chemistry, nutrition knowledge, energy intake, and physical activity was at the beginning and end of each year. Int received enhanced physical activity, grade specific nutrition education, and a lower fat and sodium school lunch program. Con continued with a regular school lunch and team sports activity program. At year 2, Int lunches had significantly less energy (9%), fat (25%), sodium (21%), and more fiber (17%). However, measures of 24-hour energy intake for Int and Con showed significant differences for sodium only. Physical activity in the classroom was 6% greater for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05) but physical activity outside of school was ?16 % less for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05). Body weight and body fat were not different between schools for normal weight or obese children. No differences were found for cholesterol, insulin, and glucose; however, HDL cholesterol was significantly greater and cholesterol/HDL was significantly less for Int compared to Con (p < 0.05). It appears that compensation in both energy intake and physical activity outside of school may be responsible for the lack of differences between Int and Con.     

硒对培养人胚肝细胞Ⅲ型前胶原,羟脯氨酸合成的影响

原代培养人胚肝细胞经１．１５６×１０￣(－７）ｍｏｌ／Ｌ硒预处理４ｈ,加入２０ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ四氟化碳作用２０ｈ,观察硒对其Ⅲ型前胶原（ＰＣⅢ）和羟脯氨酸（Ｈｙｐ）生成的影响。结果培养液中ＰＣⅢ水平、细胞内Ｈｙｐ含量及细胞内外丙二醛（ＭＤＡ）水平均降低,与未加硒对照组比较差别有显著性（Ｐ＜０．０１）。而硒谷腕甘肽过氧化物酶（Ｓｅ－ＧＳＨ－ＰＸ）活性则较对照组显著增高（Ｐ＜０．００１）,且ＰＣⅢ水平与Ｓｅ－ＧＳＨ－Ｐ＿Ｘ／ＭＤＡ比值呈负相关（ｒ＝－０．９１５６,Ｐ＜０．０１）。提示硒可提高Ｓｅ－ＧＳＨ－Ｐ＿Ｘ／ＭＤＡ比值,抑制脂质过氧化激发的肝细胞胶原合成。     

黄芪有效成分对氧自由基清除作用的ESR研究

用电子自旋共振技术研究了黄芪总黄酮(TFA)、黄芪总皂甙(TSA)和黄芪总多糖(TPA)对次黄嘌呤／黄嘌呤氧化酶体系产生的超氧阴离子自由基和H₂O₂－Fe²⁺体系产生的羟自由基的清除作用．结果表明,这3种成分均有清除氧自由基的作用;对超氧阴离子自由基的清除效能大于对羟自由基的清除作用;其作用强度依次为TFA＞TSA＞TPA．结果提示清除氧自由基可能是黄芪抗衰老的主要机理之一,TFA和TSA是黄芪抗氧化作用的主要药理活性成分．     

Conditions used with a continuous cultivation system to screen for d-hydantoinase-producing microorganisms

The continuous cultivation technique has been used to screen for microorganisms producing d-hydantoinase, a biocatalyst involved in the production of optically active amino acids. Pseudomonas putida strain DSM 84 was used as a model hydantoinase producer to establish selective culture conditions through the addition of various pyrimidines, dihydropyrimidines, hydantoins and 5-monosubstituted hydantoins. Thymine induced more activity than all cyclic amides tested. Addition of thymine as a non-metabolised inducer at a concentration of 0.05 g l^–1 in a continuous culture of P. putida stimulated hydantoinase production up to 80 times the basal level. Using continuous culture conditions established with the model strain, a different strain of P. putida having hydantoinase activity was isolated from commercial mixed cultures of microorganisms. DNA fingerprinting revealed that this new isolate was distinct from strain DSM 84. When used as a probe, the d-hydantoinase gene of strain DSM 84 hybridized with the DNA of the new P. putida isolate.     

Cellular Lipid and Fatty Acid Compositions of Burkholderia pseudomallei Strains Isolated from Human and Environment in Viet Nam

Viet nam is known as an endemic area of melioidosis but its etiologic agent originated in Viet nam was not extensively studied. For the first time, we analyzed the cellular lipid and fatty acid compositions of 15 Vietnamese isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei, 10 from humans and 5 from the environment. Cellular lipid compositions were analyzed by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography on silica gel G plates. Cellular fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The major lipids in all the isolates were phosphatidylglycerol (PG), two forms of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE-1 and PE-2), and two forms of ornithine-containing lipid (OL-1 and OL-2). PE-1 contained non-hydroxy fatty acids at both sn-1 and ?2 positions, while PE-2 possessed 2-hydroxy fatty acids and non-hydroxy fatty acids in a ratio of 1: 1. Since snake venom phospholipase A₂ digestion of PE-2 liberated 2-hydroxy fatty acids, it was confirmed that these acids are at the sn-2 position of glycerol moiety. In both OL-1 and OL-2, amide-linked fatty acid was 3-hydroxy palmitic acid (3-OH-C16: 0), while ester-linked fatty acids were non-hydroxy acids in OL-1 and 2-hydroxy acids in OL-2. The total cellular fatty acid compositions of the test strains were characterized by the presence of 2-hydroxy palmitic (2-OH-C16: 0), 2-hydroxy hexadecenoic (2-OH-C16: 1), 2-hydroxy octadecenoic (2-OH-C18: 1), 2-hydroxy methylene octadecanoic (2-OH-C19CPA), 3-hydroxy myristic (3-OH-C14: 0) and 3-hydroxy palmitic (3-OH-C16: 0) acids. There were significant differences in the concentration of hexadecenoic (C16: 1), methylene hexadecanoic (C17CPA), octadecenoic (C18: 1) and methylene octadecanoic (C19CPA) acids among the Vietnamese isolates of B. pseudomallei. However, no significant difference was observed in cellular lipid and fatty acid components between strains of human and environmental origins.     

Effect of temperature on the growth,total lipid content and fatty acid composition of recently isolated tropical microalgae Isochrysis sp., Nitzschia closterium,Nitzschia paleacea,and commercial species Isochrysis sp. (clone T.ISO)

The effect of temperature from 10 °C to 35 °C on the growth, total lipid content, and fatty acid composition of three species of tropical marine microalgae, Isochrysis sp., Nitzschia closterium, N. paleacea (formerly frustulum), and the Tahitian Isochrysis sp. (T.ISO), was investigated.Cultures of N. closterium, Isochrysis sp. and T.ISO grew very slowly at 35 °C, while N. closterium did not grow at temperatures higher than 30 °C or lower than 20 °C. N. paleacea was low-temperature tolerant, with cells growing slowly at 10 °C. N. paleacea produced the highest percentage of lipids at 10 °C, while the other species produced maximum amounts of lipid at 20 °C. None of the species maintained high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) at high growth temperature and there was a significant inverse relationship between the percentage of PUFAs and temperature for N. paleacea. A curved relationship was found between temperature and percentage of PUFA for N. closterium and tropical Isochrysis sp., with the maximum production of PUFA at 25 °C and 20 °C, respectively. The two Nitzschia species produced higher levels of the essential fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid [20:5(n-3)] at lower growth temperatures, but the two Isochrysis species had little change in percentage of 20:5(n-3) with temperature. Only T.ISO had the highest percentage of 22:6(n-3) at lowest growth temperature (11.4% total fatty acids at 10 °C).School of Mathematical and Physical SciencesAuthor for correspondence     

Human genes for glutathione S-transferases

The tissue distribution of different glutathione S-transferases (GST) is analysed by electrophoresis. The existence of GST"e" (erythrocyte), GST3, GST1, and GST2 is confirmed. GST"e" the fastest and most thermolabile of different GST analysed is observed only in erythrocyte cells. GST3 which migrates more slowly than GST"e" is present in all tissues and cells analysed, excepted for erythrocyte cells in which only GST"e" is observed. GST1 presents a polymorphism with four phenotypes, 1, 1/2, 2, and 0 controlled by three alleles 1, 2, and 0 (null). With the sample of 56 livers analysed the different frequencies obtained are 9%, 5%, 43%, 43% for the phenotypes 1, 1/2, 2, and 0 respectively and 0.074 (p), 0.279 (q), 0.647 (r) for the alleles, 1, 2, and 0 (null). GST2 presents variant patterns due probably, in the majority of cases, to post-synthetic modifications rather than allelic variation. Two new GST are described, GST4 and GST5. GST4 abundant in muscle tissue is a dimeric protein. GST4 forms with GST1 a heterodimeric band. GST5 is observed in brain homogenates. For the chromosome localization the results obtained by man (leucocytes)-mouse somatic cell hybrid analysis indicate that the gene for leucocytes GST is on chromosome 11. This gene is the structural GST3 gene.     

Assignment of the gene for uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase to human chromosome 1 by somatic cell hybridization and specific enzyme immunoassay

Summary A specific enzyme immunoassay of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was developed and applied to the detection of the human enzyme in man-rodent somatic cell hybrids. This method allowed to assign the gene for uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase to human chromosome 1.     

Pituitary response of prepuberal lambs to oestradiol-17 beta.

In two experiments 48 prepuberal Merino ewe lambs were injected with oestradiol-17 beta (E2) or saline to study the effect of E2 on their plasma LH levels and on oestrus and ovulation. In the three groups which received 30 (experiment I), 50 and 30 (experiment II) microgram E2 respectively, 27 out of 28 lambs showed an LH response, the corresponding mean LH peaks being 64.3 +/0 22.5, 153.6 +/-33.4 and 91.7 +/- 16.9 ng/ml at mean intervals of 11.1, 11.2 and 10.5 h, respectively, after injection. None of the 20 lambs in the control groups had an LH level higher than 18 ng/ml 12 h after injection. In the three E2 groups, 41.7, 62.5 and 37.5% of animals showed oestrus within 26 h of injection while in the control groups only one animal showed oestrus. Of 13 animals showing oestrus in the E2 groups, 11 failed to ovulate. The mean pre-injection plasma FSH level in experiment I was 102.7 ng/ml, and in four 5--7-month-old lambs over several weeks uas 155.3 ng/ml. Despite these high pre-injection levels of FSH, it appears that the follicles were unable to respond to the LH peak which followed the E2 injection.     

The multiple conformations of a cyclic disaccharide: DI-β-d-glucopyranose 1,6′:1′,6-dianhydride hexaacetate

The conformational behaviour of a cyclic disaccharide, di-β-d-glucopyranose 1,6′:1′,6-dianhydride hexaacetate, has been investigated. Because this molecule can exist only with the glucose rings in the unusual flexible forms, such conformational parameters as pseudorotation phase-angles have been used. Within a given number of approximations, the conformational space available for the whole system can be explored by considering only one two-dimensional map. Detailed investigations have shown that three stable conformations may be proposed. Among these, two correspond to minima found in the solid state. In one form, the six-membered rings adopt a boat conformation, whereas a skew conformation is found for the other form. However, these two conformations cannot be considered to be unique models of the conformation in solution; they both produce sets of proton-proton coupling-constants inconsistent with observed n.m.r.-spectroscopic results. At least the third form, having the six-membered rings in skew conformations, has to be taken into account. Deviations from coupling constants-molecular conformation relationships are thought to originate from ring strain.