Fall in total cholesterol concentration over five years in association with changes in fatty acid composition of cooking oil in Mauritius: cross sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which reducing the saturated fatty acid composition of a ubiquitously used cooking oil influenced changes in cholesterol concentration in the population during a five year intervention programme in Mauritius. DESIGN: Cross sectional surveys in 1987 and 1992 determined mean total cholesterol concentrations in the population. A random sample of respondents in the 1992 survey completed a nutrition questionnaire that included questions on diet in the previous 24 hours. SETTING: Mauritius. INTERVENTION: In 1987 the government of Mauritius changed the composition of the commonly used cooking oil from being mostly palm oil (high in saturated fatty acids) to being wholly soya bean oil (high in unsaturated fatty acids). SUBJECTS: 5080 and 5162 subjects in 1987 and 1992 cross sectional surveys. 2059 subjects aged 30-64 years were randomly selected from the respondents of the 1992 survey to take part in the nutrition survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fatty acid composition of phospholipids in pooled serum samples from men and women from the two surveys; measured and predicted change in serum cholesterol concentration. RESULTS: From 1987 to 1992 total cholesterol concentrations fell significantly by 0.79 mmol/l (P < 0.001) in men and 0.82 mmol/l (P < 0.001) in women. The estimated intake of saturated fatty acids decreased by 3.5% of energy intake in men and by 3.6% in women, and the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased by 5.5% and 5.6% of energy intake, respectively. These changes were reflected in changes in the fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids, and according to Keys'' formula these changes explained much of the decrease in serum cholesterol concentrations (predicted decrease of 0.38 mmol/l in men and by 0.40 mmol/l in women). CONCLUSION: Dietary changes that entailed a reduction in the saturated fat content of a ubiquitous cooking oil explained most of the observed decrease in serum cholesterol concentration over five years in the population of Mauritius.     

Characterization of a novel xylanase from Armillaria gemina and its immobilization onto SiO2 nanoparticles

Enhanced catalytic activities of different lignocellulases were obtained from Armillaria gemina under statistically optimized parameters using a jar fermenter. This strain showed maximum xylanase, endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase, and β-glucosidase activities of 1,270, 146, 34, and 15 U mL^?1, respectively. Purified A. gemina xylanase (AgXyl) has the highest catalytic efficiency (k _cat/K _m?=?1,440 mg?mL^?1?s^?1) ever reported for any fungal xylanase, highlighting the significance of the current study. We covalently immobilized the crude xylanase preparation onto functionalized silicon oxide nanoparticles, achieving 117 % immobilization efficiency. Further immobilization caused a shift in the optimal pH and temperature, along with a fourfold improvement in the half-life of crude AgXyl. Immobilized AgXyl gave 37.8 % higher production of xylooligosaccharides compared to free enzyme. After 17 cycles, the immobilized enzyme retained 92 % of the original activity, demonstrating its potential for the synthesis of xylooligosaccharides in industrial applications.     

Impact of Scotland's Smoke-Free Legislation on Pregnancy Complications: Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

Both active smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure are associated with pregnancy complications. In March 2006, Scotland implemented legislation prohibiting smoking in all wholly or partially enclosed public spaces. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of this legislation on preterm delivery and small for gestational age.

Methods and Findings

We conducted logistic regression analyses using national administrative pregnancy data covering the whole of Scotland. Of the two breakpoints tested, 1 January 2006 produced a better fit than the date when the legislation came into force (26 March 2006), suggesting an anticipatory effect. Among the 716,941 eligible women who conceived between August 1995 and February 2009 and subsequently delivered a live-born, singleton infant between 24 and 44 wk gestation, the prevalence of current smoking fell from 25.4% before legislation to 18.8% after legislation (p<0.001). Three months prior to the legislation, there were significant decreases in small for gestational age (−4.52%, 95% CI −8.28, −0.60, p = 0.024), overall preterm delivery (−11.72%, 95% CI −15.87, −7.35, p<0.001), and spontaneous preterm labour (−11.35%, 95% CI −17.20, −5.09, p = 0.001). In sub-group analyses, significant reductions were observed among both current and never smokers.

Conclusions

Reductions were observed in the risk of preterm delivery and small for gestational age 3 mo prior to the introduction of legislation, although the former reversed partially following the legislation. There is growing evidence of the potential for tobacco control legislation to have a positive impact on health. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

Phylogeography of the magpie-robin species complex (Aves: Turdidae: Copsychus) reveals a Philippine species, an interesting isolating barrier and unusual dispersal patterns in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia

Aim The oriental magpie‐robin (Copsychus saularis) of South and Southeast Asia is a phenotypically variable species that appears to be closely related to two endemic species of the western Indian Ocean: the Madagascar magpie‐robin (Copsychus albospecularis) and the Seychelles magpie‐robin (Copsychus sechellarum). This unusual distribution led us to examine evolutionary relationships in magpie‐robins, and also the taxonomic significance of their plumage variation, via a molecular phylogenetic and population genetic analysis of C. saularis and C. albospecularis. Location Southern Asia from Nepal across Indochina to southern China, and the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Greater Sunda and Philippine islands. Methods We sequenced 1695 nucleotides of mitochondrial DNA comprising the complete second subunit of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase (ND2) gene and 654 bases of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region in 51 individuals of eight C. saularis subspecies, 10 individuals of C. albospecularis (one subspecies) and single individuals of two other Copsychus species as outgroups. The data were analysed phylogenetically, with maximum likelihood, Bayesian, relaxed clock and parsimony methods, and geographically for patterns of genetic diversity. Results Phylogenetic analysis indicated that C. albospecularis lies within the nominal C. saularis, making C. saularis polyphyletic. Malagasy and non‐Philippine Asian populations form a monophyletic group that is sister to a clade of Philippine populations. Within non‐Philippine Asian populations, two groups are evident: black‐bellied birds in the eastern Greater Sunda islands and white‐bellied birds in the western Sundas and on mainland Asia. Main conclusions The phylogeny of magpie‐robins suggests a novel pattern of dispersal and differentiation in the Old World. Ancestral magpie‐robins appear to have spread widely among islands of the Indian Ocean in the Pliocene, probably aided by their affinity for coastal habitats. Populations subsequently became isolated in island groups, notably the Philippines, Madagascar and the Greater Sundas, leading to speciation in all three areas. Isolation in the Philippines may have been aided by competitive exclusion of C. saularis from Palawan by a congener, the white‐vented shama (Copsychus niger). In the Greater Sundas, white‐bellied populations appear to have invaded Borneo and Java recently, where they hybridize with resident black‐bellied birds.     

Phylogeny of magpie‐robins and shamas (Aves: Turdidae: Copsychus and Trichixos): implications for island biogeography in Southeast Asia

Aim Magpie‐robins and shamas are forest and woodland birds of south Asia. There are two genera: Trichixos for the monotypic T. pyrrhopygus, and Copsychus for other species. Two species are widespread, whereas the others are restricted to specific islands. Endemicity is highest in the Philippines. Using phylogenetic methods, we examined how this group came to its unusual distribution. Location Mainland Asia from India to southern China, and islands from Madagascar to the Philippines. Particular emphasis is placed on the Greater Sundas and Philippines. Methods The phylogeny was estimated from DNA sequences of 14 ingroup taxa representing all nine currently recognized Copsychus and Trichixos species. The entire mitochondrial ND2 gene and portions of nuclear myoglobin intron 2 (Myo2) and transforming growth factor beta 2 intron 5 (TGFβ2‐5) were sequenced for all but two species. The phylogeny was reconstructed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. The timing of divergence events was estimated using a relaxed molecular clock approach, and ancestral areas were examined using stochastic modelling. Results The group comprises three main clades corresponding to ecological types: Trichixos, a primary‐forest specialist; Copsychus magpie‐robins, open‐woodland and coastal species; and Copsychus shamas, thick‐forest species. Trichixos appears to be sister to the magpie‐robins, rendering Copsychus polyphyletic. The dating of phylogenetic nodes was too ambiguous to provide substantial insight into specific geographical events responsible for divergence within the group. Some patterns are nevertheless clear. Copsychus shamas reached the Philippines, probably in two separate invasions, and split into endemic species. Copsychus malabaricus and C. saularis expanded widely in the Greater Sundas and mainland Southeast Asia without species‐level diversification. Main conclusions Magpie‐robins are excellent dispersers and have diversified into distinct species only on isolated oceanic islands. Trichixos, a poor disperser, is restricted to mature forests of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. Copsychus shamas are intermediate in habitat preference and dispersal capabilities. Their endemism in the Philippines may be attributed to early colonization and specialization to interior forests. In the Greater Sundas, C. malabaricus and C. saularis populations split and came together on Borneo to form two separate subspecies (of each species), which now hybridize.     

Multilocus analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of rainforest bird populations in Southeast Asia

Sundaland has a dynamic geographic history because its landmasses were periodically interconnected when sea levels fell during glacial periods. Superimposed on this geographic dynamism were environmental changes related to climatic oscillations. To investigate how tropical taxa responded to such changes, we studied the divergence and demographic history of two co-distributed rainforest passerine species, Arachnothera longirostra and Malacocincla malaccensis. We sampled birds primarily from Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, which straddle the now-submerged Sunda shelf, and analysed multilocus DNA data with a variety of coalescent and gene genealogy methods. Cross-shelf divergence in both species occurred well before the last glacial maximum, i.e., before the most recent land connection. However, post-divergence gene flow occurred, and it was more pronounced in A. longirostra (a highly vagile nectarivore/insectivore) than in M. malaccensis (an understory insectivore). Despite current habitat continuity on Borneo, the population of M. malaccensis in northeastern Borneo is substantially divergent from that on the rest of the island. The NE population experienced dramatic demographic fluctuations, probably because of competition with the other population, which expanded from western Borneo after the mid-Pleistocene. In contrast, the Borneo population of A. longirostra has little structure and appears to have experienced demographic expansion 16 kya, long after it had diverged from the Malay Peninsula population (630-690 kya). Malay Peninsula populations of both species have remained relatively stable. Overall, the most recent glacial period was not the chief determinant of the evolutionary dynamics of our study species, and in this respect, they are different from temperate species.     

Cloning and characterization of a putative β-glucosidase (NfBGL595) from Neosartorya fischeri

Whole genome sequence of Neosartorya fischeri NRRL181 revealed four putative GH1 β-glucosidases (BGLs). One BGL, NfBGL595 was successfully expressed and characterized. DNA sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 1590 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 529 amino acid residues. The gene was cloned in pET28a and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant BGL showed high levels of catalytic activity, with V_max of 1693 U mg-protein⁻¹ and a K_m of 2.8 mM for p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPG). The optimal temperature and pH for enzyme activity were 40 °C and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme exhibited broad substrate specificity towards aryl glycosides including pNP-mannose, pNP-galactose, pNP-xylose, and pNP-cellobioside. A homology model of NfBGL595 was constructed based on the X-ray crystal structure of Trichoderma reesei BGL2. Molecular dynamics simulation studies of the enzyme with the pNPG and cellobiose, shed light on the substrate specificity of N. fischeri BGL595 only towards aryl glycoside.