Effects of welfare reform on household food insecurity across generations

This study estimates the effects of welfare reform in the 1990s, which permanently restructured and contracted the cash assistance system in the U.S., on food insecurity—a fundamental form of material hardship—of the next generation of households. An implicit goal underlying welfare reform was the disruption of an assumed intergenerational transmission of disadvantage; however, little is known about the effects of welfare reform on the well-being of the next generation of adults. Using intergenerational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a variation on a difference-in-differences framework, this study exploits 3 sources of variation in childhood exposure to welfare reform: (1) risk of exposure across birth cohorts; (2) variation of exposure within cohorts because different states implemented welfare reform in different years; and (3) variation between individuals with the same exposure who were more likely and less likely to rely on welfare. We found that exposure to welfare reform led to decreases in food insecurity of the next generation of households, by about 10% for a 5-year increase in exposure, with stronger effects for individuals exposed for longer durations during childhood, individuals exposed in early childhood (0–5 years), and women. We also found smaller favorable effects for individuals whose mothers had less than a high school education, indicating that in terms of food insecurity, welfare reform led to relative disadvantages among the most disadvantaged and thus could be exacerbating socioeconomic and health inequalities.     

蜂桶寨自然保护区中华姬鼠和社鼠食性的季节变化及与肠道长度的关系

为揭示啮齿动物食性及其对消化道肠道长度的影响,我们于2008 年在四川省宝兴县蜂桶寨国家级自然保护区内以中华姬鼠和社鼠为对象展开了研究。结果发现社鼠和中华姬鼠均以摄食种子为主,食谱中各食物成分在性别之间无显著差异,但季节变化明显。在各食物成分中,摄入种子百分比与中华姬鼠及社鼠小肠长之间呈显著正相关,而昆虫成分则相反。分析认为,中华姬鼠和社鼠取食食物成分的季节变化,可能与不同季节中食物资源可获得性的不同有关,消化道长度的变化可能体现了对季节性食物资源和能量需求的适应.     

Food Intake and Body Positional Change Alter the Circadian Rhythm of Atrial Natriuretic Peptides Excretion into Human Urine

The 98 amino acid (a.a.) N-terminus of the 126 a.a. atrial natriuretic factor prohormone contains two natriuretic and vasodilatory peptides consisting of a.a. 1–30 (proANF 1–30) and a.a. 31–67 (proANF 31–67). The N-terminus and C-terminus (a.a. 99–126, i.e., ANF–also a vasodilatory peptide) circulate normally in humans with a circadian peak at 04:00 h in plasma. To determine if the N-terminus and C-terminus of the ANF prohormone are present in urine and possibly have a circadian variation in urine, six healthy volunteers had urine samples hourly while awake and every 3 h during sleep for five consecutive days obtained for radioimmunoassay. The sleep-awake pattern was varied so that after 2 days of normal sleep (supine)-awake (upright) positions, these volunteers were supine from 15:00 h on the third day until 10:00 h of the fourth day. They were then upright until 19:00 h that day when they became supine again until 02:30 h, and then were upright until 10:00 h of day 5. Three radioimmunoassays that immunologically recognize (a) the whole N-terminus (i.e., amino acids 1–98), (b) the midportion of the N-terminus (amino acids 31–67), and (c) the C-terminus of the ANF prohormone were utilized. ProANF 1–98, proANF 31–67, and the ANF radioimmunoassays each detected their respective peptides in urine. A circadian peak for each of these peptides was detected at 04:00 to 05:00 h whether the person was supine or upright during the night, which were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than their concentrations in the afternoon of the previous days. Assuming a supine position during the day caused a significant (p < 0.01) two- to threefold increase in these peptides in the urine. Food intake also increased the concentrations of proANF 1–98, proANF 31–67, and ANF in urine (p < 0.001). Fluid intake when abstaining from food throughout the day lowered the concentration of these peptides in the urine. It was concluded that there is a circadian rhythm in both the N-terminus and C-terminus of the ANF prohormone excretion into urine with a peak at 04:00 h irrespective of posture, but that both posture and food and fluid intake throughout the day significantly influence the excretion of these peptides into the urine, with supine posture and food increasing their concentrations in the urine while fluid intake decreases their concentrations in the urine.     

香鼬、艾虎和大鵟的食物资源分割——来自稳定性同位素的证据

通过对高寒草甸生态系统内香鼬、艾虎和大鵟3种食肉类稳定性碳和氮同位素比值(δ^13C和δ^15N)的测定,依据同位素的质量平衡原理和IsoSource软件计算得到：小型哺乳类在香鼬、艾虎和大鵟食谱中的分配比例分别为26．8％、27．0％和29．2％;雀形目成鸟的分配比例为22．3％、47．7％和69．1％;雀形目幼鸟为50．9％、25．6％和1．70％。3种食肉类的稳定性碳和氮同位素分布模式在二维空间上存在明显分割,由此说明．香鼬、艾虎和大鵟之间存在明显的食物资源分割现象,同时也反映了三者在高寒草甸生态系统内共存的基础。     

Adrenal modulation of the inhibitory effect of corticotropin releasing factor on feeding

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) reduces food intake in rats after central administration. In these studies we examined whether the adrenal gland and the vagus were involved in CRF suppression of intake. One hour intake was reduced by a 5 μg (ICV) injection of CRF in sham but not adrenalectomized rats maintained on 0.9% NaCl. In a separate experiment on rats maintained on tap water, the inhibitory effect of CRF (5 μg) lasted at least 4 hours in sham rats whereas adrenalectomized rats did not significantly differ from controls. These experiments suggest that the adrenal gland modulates the feeding response to CRF. As replacement with corticosterone (0.75 mg/kg) in total adrenalectomized rats did not restore responsiveness to 5 or 10 μg of CRF, we next studied whether the adrenal medulla was responsible for the decreased responsiveness to CRF. In rats lacking the adrenal medulla only, food intake was reduced by a 5 μg injection of CRF; in sham rats, intake was significantly reduced by doses as low as 0.1 μg of CRF. An additional experiment examined the effect of gastric vagotomy on the CRF feeding response. Vagotomized rats were as responsive to 5 and 10 μg injections of CRF as sham rats, which suggests that the effect is not dependent on the vagus nerve. These findings indicate that the adrenal gland, primarily the medulla, plays an intermediate role in the reduction of food intake caused by central injections of CRF. This conclusion is consistent with the known effect of CRF on adrenomedullary discharge.     

Plants as sources of natural and recombinant anti-cancer agents

Herbal remedies were the first medicines used by humans due to the many pharmacologically active secondary metabolites produced by plants. Some of these metabolites inhibit cell division and can therefore be used for the treatment of cancer, e.g. the mitostatic drug paclitaxel (Taxol). The ability of plants to produce medicines targeting cancer has expanded due to the advent of genetic engineering, particularly in recent years because of the development of gene editing systems such as the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. These technologies allow the introduction of genetic modifications that facilitate the accumulation of native pharmaceutically-active substances, and even the production heterologous recombinant proteins, including human antibodies, lectins and vaccine candidates. Here we discuss the anti-cancer agents that are produced by plants naturally or following genetic modification, and the potential of these products to supply modern healthcare systems. Special emphasis will be put on proteinaceous anti-cancer agents, which can exhibit an improved selectivity and reduced side effects compared to small molecule-based drugs.     

Old and new glycopeptide antibiotics: From product to gene and back in the post-genomic era

Glycopeptide antibiotics are drugs of last resort for treating severe infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-positive pathogens. First-generation glycopeptides (vancomycin and teicoplanin) are produced by soil-dwelling actinomycetes. Second-generation glycopeptides (dalbavancin, oritavancin, and telavancin) are semi-synthetic derivatives of the progenitor natural products. Herein, we cover past and present biotechnological approaches for searching for and producing old and new glycopeptide antibiotics. We review the strategies adopted to increase microbial production (from classical strain improvement to rational genetic engineering), and the recent progress in genome mining, chemoenzymatic derivatization, and combinatorial biosynthesis for expanding glycopeptide chemical diversity and tackling the never-ceasing evolution of antibiotic resistance.     

Microbes in food processing technology

Abstract: There is an increasing understanding that the microbial quality of a certain food is the result of a chain of events. It is clear that the microbial safety of food can only be guaranteed when the overall processing, including the production of raw materials, distribution and handling by the consumer are taken into consideration. Therefore, the microbiological quality assurance of foods is not only a matter of control, but also of a careful design of the total process chain. Food industry has now generally adapted quality assurance systems and is implementing the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept. Rapid microbiological monitoring systems should be used in these cases. There is a need for rapid and simple microbiological tests which can be adapted to the technology and logistics of specific production processes. Traditional microbiological methods generally do not meet these high requirements. This paper discusses the tests, based on molecular biological principles, to detect and identify microbes in food-processing chains. Tests based on DNA technology are discussed, including in vitro DNA amplification like the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and identifications based on RFLP, RAPD and DNA fingerprinting analysis. PCR-haled methodology can be used for the rapid detection of microbes in food manufacturing environments. In addition, DNA fingerprinting methods are suitable for investigating sources and routes of microbial contamination in the food cycle.     

内蒙古赛罕乌拉自然保护区狼的数量分布和食物组成

2006年1月至2008年12月,在内蒙古赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区运用样线法和粪便分析法,对狼(Canis lupus)的生态分布和食物组成开展了研究。研究结果:保护区狼的数量至少7只,密度为(4.18±2.88)只/100km2,主要分布于保护区的圣山和庆云山核心区。在圣山主要活动于山脊、道路和沟谷;在庆云山主要活动于山脊。草兔(Lepus capensis)和植物在狼的食物组成中出现率最高,其食物组成在年度间存在显著差异(P<0.01),冬春与夏秋季节间差异不显著(P>0.05)。     

黄鳝食性的初步研究

通过对不同产地的２７１尾野生黄鳝的食性研究表明,全长小于１００ｍｍ的稚鱼,其食性随着全长的生长而变化,稚鱼前期以摄食轮虫,枝角类为主,后期则以水生寡毛类,摇蚊幼虫为主,而全长１０１ｍｍ－２００ｍｍ的幼鳝及全长大于２００ｍｍ的成鳝的食性,随全长变化相对稳定,且细鳝和成鳝的食谱基本相同,其主要食物组成均包括摇蚊幼虫,水生寡毛类,蚯蚓,昆虫幼虫,枝角类和桡足类等。其肠内含物中的饵料生物种类含量均在季节变