Explanations for weight loss after ileojejunal bypass in gross obesity.

Twenty grossly obese patients underwent ileojejunal bypass operations. Measurements of calories lost in faeces showed that the malabsorption could not account for the weight loss. Furthermore, the malabsorption was not decreased two years after bypass, when weight was no longer being lost. Dietary restriction is therefore largely responsible for the weight loss and increased food intake for weight maintenance.     

Sequence determination of peptides by mass spectrometry: methods for combining "wet" separation techniques with mass spectrometry.

Methods are described that allow the combination of established techniques for peptide separation, paper chromatography and electrophoresis, with mass spectrometry. The development of these methods is part of an ongoing effort in the search for a methodology for the systematic utilization of mass spectrometry for the elucidation of primary structure of proteins and peptides. Peptides and amino acids are detected on chromatograms by conversion to covalent derivatives that are also suitable for mass spectrometry. The most useful reagents for detection and derization of peptides reported here are dansyl chloride, N,N-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, N,N-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde, and N-hydroxysuccinimido β-naphthoate. Detection limits and mass spectra for some of these derivatives are reported.     

Agarose slab-gel electrophoresis equipment.

Simple slab-gel molds which utilize the electrophoresis apparatus described by F. W. Studier (J. Mol. Biol.79, 237 (1973)) have been designed for pouring and running agarose slab-gels. Analytical gels in which many samples are run simultaneously facilitate the assay of many enzymes which lead to physical changes in DNA, whereas the preparative gels allow the separation of large quantities (1–20 mg) of DNA fragments.     

Using genetic variation to disentangle the complex relationship between food intake and health outcomes

Diet is considered as one of the most important modifiable factors influencing human health, but efforts to identify foods or dietary patterns associated with health outcomes often suffer from biases, confounding, and reverse causation. Applying Mendelian randomization in this context may provide evidence to strengthen causality in nutrition research. To this end, we first identified 283 genetic markers associated with dietary intake in 445,779 UK Biobank participants. We then converted these associations into direct genetic effects on food exposures by adjusting them for effects mediated via other traits. The SNPs which did not show evidence of mediation were then used for MR, assessing the association between genetically predicted food choices and other risk factors, health outcomes. We show that using all associated SNPs without omitting those which show evidence of mediation, leads to biases in downstream analyses (genetic correlations, causal inference), similar to those present in observational studies. However, MR analyses using SNPs which have only a direct effect on the exposure on food exposures provided unequivocal evidence of causal associations between specific eating patterns and obesity, blood lipid status, and several other risk factors and health outcomes.     

Acquisition and maintenance of enterotoxin plasmids in wild-type strains of Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli (ETEC) may produce a heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), a heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) or both enterotoxins. Certain serogroups are represented more frequently than others in ETEC isolated from humans. The transfer of three plasmids encoding enterotoxin production (Ent) to 22 non-toxigenic E. coli strains of many different O:H serotypes was studied. The Ent plasmids encoded ST (TP276), or LT (TP277), or ST + LT (TP214), and all carried antibiotic-resistance determinants. Twenty-one recipient strains acquired TP214, 18 acquired TP277 and 14 acquired TP276. Strains of those serotypes to which ETEC in diarrhoeal studies commonly belong neither acquired nor maintained Ent plasmids with a higher frequency than strains of those serotypes to which ETEC rarely belong. The recipient strains, with one exception, all expressed ST, or LT, or ST and LT, when they had acquired the appropriate plasmid; a non-motile strain belonging to O serogroup 88 expressed LT but failed to express ST when it acquired TP214 or TP277.     

Purification and properties of the β-fructofuranosidase from Kluyveromyces fragilis

The β-fructofuranosidase from Kluyveromyces fragilis was purified to one band on electrophoresis by 3 different methods. Two of the preparations were found to be impure by isoelectric focusing. This demonstrates the need for more than one criteria of homogeneity when purifying this enzyme. The enzyme was found to be a glycoprotein, stable at 50°C, with a pH optimum of 4.5. The cations Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺ exhibited a marked inhibition of the enzyme. Competitive inhibition was observed with the fructose analog 2,5-anhydro-D-mannitol suggesting that the enzyme is inhibited by the furanose form of fructose.     

Effect of soil temperature on stem sap flow,shoot gas exchange and water potential of Picea engelmannii (Parry) during snowmelt

Summary The effect of cold soils on stem sap flow, shoot gas exchange and water potential of Picea engelmannii (Parry) was investigated during the snowmelt period in the Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming, USA. Shoot net photosynthetic rates were higher in young trees (1.5–1.8 m in height) growing in cold soils (<3.5° C) associated with snowpack, than trees in warm soils until about 1500 h. Higher shoot photosynthetic rates of trees in cold soils continued after snow was removed and could not be completely explained by higher visible irradiance over highly reflective snow. Following soil warming higher photosynthetic rates were evident in these trees for five days. High nutrient availability associated with snowmelt may improve shoot nutrient status leading to higher gas-exchange rates during snowmelt. Shoot conductance to water vapor was higher in trees in cold soil until midday, when declining shoot conductance led to lower intercellular CO₂ concentrations. Midday through afternoon shoot water potentials of trees in cold soils were similar or higher than those of trees in warm soils and the lower afternoon shoot conductances in cold soils were not the result of lower bulk shoot water potentials. Decline in net photosynthesis of trees in cold soils at 1500 h paralleled increases in intercellular CO₂ concentrations, implying a nonstomatal limitation of photosynthesis. This scenario occurred consistently in mid-afternoon following higher morning and midday photosynthesis in cold soils, suggesting a carbohydrate feedback inhibition of photosynthesis. Diurnal patterns in stem sap flow of all trees (cold and warm soils) reflected patterns of shoot conductance, although changes in stem sap flow lagged 1–3 h behind shoot conductance apparently due to stem water storage. Total daily stem sap flow was similar in trees in cold and warm soils, although diel patterns differed. The morning surge and night-time drop in sap flow commenced 1–2 h earlier in trees in cold soils. Overnight stem sap flow was lower in trees in cold soils, possibly due to higher resistance to root water uptake in cold soils, which may explain lower predawn shoot water potentials. However, midday shoot water potentials of trees in cold soils equalled or exceeded those of trees in warm soils. Higher resistance to root water uptake in P. engelmannii in cold soils was apparently overshadowed by transpirational forces and significant shoot water deficits did not develop.