Liver abnormalities associated with celiac sprue. How common are they, what is their significance, and what do we do about them?

We prospectively measured serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate and alanine transaminase (AST/ALT), and tested sera for antinuclear, smooth-muscle, and antimitochondrial antibodies (ANA, SMA, AMA) in our patients with celiac sprue to determine the prevalence of associated liver abnormalities and its relevance to clinical management. Of 129 patients, ALP was the only elevated enzyme in 12 (9%) and in most cases was not thought to reflect significant liver disease. Seventeen (13%) had elevated AST and/or ALT with normal ALP. Levels normalized in 15 patients after dietary gluten exclusion and remained elevated in 2 noncompliers. Two patients (2%) with elevated AST, ALT, and ALP underwent further investigation: one had negative autoantibodies, liver biopsy, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and the other had ANA-positive chronic active hepatitis; enzymes in both cases improved with a gluten-free diet. There was no significant association between elevated AST/ALT and positive ANA/SMA; no patient had AMA. Abnormalities in liver enzymes are common in celiac sprue, but usually respond to dietary gluten exclusion. We propose that there is no need for invasive liver investigation in these patients unless there is more specific evidence of primary liver disease or failure of dietary response.

Pomegranate polyphenols lower lipid peroxidation in adults with type 2 diabetes but have no effects in healthy volunteers:a pilot study

Aims. To examine the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of pomegranate polyphenols in obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (n = 8) and in healthy nondiabetic controls (n = 9). Methods. Participants received 2 capsules of pomegranate polyphenols (POMx, 1 capsule = 753?mg polyphenols) daily for 4 weeks. Blood draws and anthropometrics were performed at baseline and at 4 weeks of the study. Results. Pomegranate polyphenols in healthy controls and in T2DM patients did not significantly affect body weight and blood pressure, glucose and lipids. Among clinical safety profiles, serum electrolytes, renal function tests, and hematological profiles were not significantly affected by POMx supplementation. However, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) showed a significant increase in healthy controls, while alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was significantly decreased in T2DM patients at 4 weeks (P <0.05), though values remained within the normal ranges. Among the biomarkers of lipid oxidation and inflammation, oxidized LDL and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) did not differ at 4 weeks in either group, while pomegranate polyphenols significantly decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydroxynonenal (HNE) only in the diabetic group versus baseline (P <0.05). Conclusions. POMx reduces lipid peroxidation in patients with T2DM, but with no effects in healthy controls, and specifically modulates liver enzymes in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. Larger clinical trials are merited.

S-(2-Succinyl)cysteine:a novel chemical modification of tissue proteins by a Krebs cycle intermediate

S-(2-Succinyl)cysteine (2SC) has been identified as a chemical modification in plasma proteins, in the non-mercaptalbumin fraction of human plasma albumin, in human skin collagen, and in rat skeletal muscle proteins and urine. 2SC increases in human skin collagen with age and is increased in muscle protein of diabetic vs. control rats. The concentration of 2SC in skin collagen and muscle protein correlated strongly with that of the advanced glycation/lipoxidation end-product (AGE/ALE), N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML). 2SC is formed by a Michael addition reaction of cysteine sulfhydryl groups with fumarate at physiological pH. Fumarate, but not succinate, inactivates the sulfhydryl enzyme, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in vitro, in concert with formation of 2SC. 2SC is the first example of spontaneous chemical modification of protein by a metabolic intermediate in the Krebs cycle. These observations identify fumarate as an endogenous electrophile and suggest a role for fumarate in regulation of metabolism.

Mathematics background of engineering students in Northern Ireland and Finland

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development investigated numeracy proficiency among adults of working age in 23 countries across the world. Finland had the highest mean numeracy proficiency for people in the 16 – 24 age group while Northern Ireland’s score was below the mean for all the countries. An international collaboration has been undertaken to investigate the prevalence of mathematics within the secondary education systems in Northern Ireland and Finland, to highlight particular issues associated with transition into university and consider whether aspects of the Finnish experience are applicable elsewhere. In both Northern Ireland and Finland, at age 16, about half of school students continue into upper secondary level following their compulsory education. The upper secondary curriculum in Northern Ireland involves a focus on three subjects while Finnish students study a very wide range of subjects with about two-thirds of the courses being compulsory. The number of compulsory courses in maths is proportionally large; this means that all upper secondary pupils in Finland (about 55% of the population) follow a curriculum which has a formal maths content of 8%, at the very minimum. In contrast, recent data have indicated that only about 13% of Northern Ireland school leavers studied mathematics in upper secondary school. The compulsory courses of the advanced maths syllabus in Finland are largely composed of pure maths with a small amount of statistics but no mechanics. They lack some topics (for example, in advanced calculus and numerical methods for integration) which are core in Northern Ireland. This is not surprising given the much broader curriculum within upper secondary education in Finland. In both countries, there is a wide variation in the mathematical skills of school leavers. However, given the prevalence of maths within upper secondary education in Finland, it is to be expected that young adults in that country demonstrate high numeracy proficiency.

Excess molar volumes and excess molar enthalpies in binary systems N-alkyl-triethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide plus methanol

In the present paper, a study on the influence of the alkyl chain length in N-alkyl-triethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquids, [N_R,222][Tf₂N] (R   = 6, 8 or 12), on the excess molar enthalpy at 303.15 K and excess molar volume within the temperature interval (283.15–338.15 K) of ionic liquid + methanol mixtures is carried out. Small excess molar volumes with highly asymmetric curves (i.e. S-shape) as a function of mole fraction composition were obtained, with negative values showing in the methanol-rich regions. The excess molar volumes increase with the increase of the alkyl-chain length of the ammonium cation of the ionic liquid and decrease with temperature. The excess enthalpies of selected binary mixtures are positive over the whole composition range and increase slightly with the length of the alkyl side-chain of the cation on the ionic liquid. Both excess properties were subsequently correlated using a Redlich–Kister-type equation, as well as by using the ERAS model. From this semipredictive model the studied excess quantities could be obtained from its chemical and physical contribution. Finally, the COSMOThermX software has been used to evaluate its prediction capability on the excess enthalpy for investigated mixtures at 303.15 K and 0.1 MPa. From this work, it appears that COSMOThermX method predicts this property with good accuracy of approx. 10%, providing at the same time the correct order of magnitude of the partial molar excess enthalpies at infinite dilution for the studied ILs,

Low pressure methane solubility in lithium-ion batteries based solvents and electrolytes as a function of temperature. Measurement and prediction

The methane solubility in five pure electrolyte solvents and one binary solvent mixture for lithium ion batteries – such as ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), diethyl carbonate (DEC) and the (50:50 wt%) mixture of EC:DMC was studied experimentally at pressures close to atmospheric and as a function of temperature between (280 and 343) K by using an isochoric saturation technique. The effect of the selected anions of a lithium salt LiX (X = hexafluorophosphate,

Microwave-Assisted Preparation of Hydrogel-Forming Microneedle Arrays for Transdermal Drug Delivery Applications

A microwave (MW)-assisted crosslinking process to prepare hydrogel-forming microneedle (MN) arrays was evaluated. Conventionally, such MN arrays are prepared using processes that includes a thermal crosslinking step. Polymeric MN arrays were prepared using poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) crosslinked by reaction with poly(ethylene glycol) over 24 h at 80 °C. Polymeric MN arrays were prepared to compare conventional process with the novel MW-assisted crosslinking method. Infrared spectroscopy was used to evaluate the crosslinking degree, evaluating the area of the carbonyl peaks (2000–1500 cm−1). It was shown that, by using the MW-assisted process, MN with a similar crosslinking degree to those prepared conventionally can be obtained in only 45 min. The effects of the crosslinking process on the properties of these materials were also evaluated. For this purpose swelling kinetics, mechanical characterisation, and insertion studies were performed. The results suggest that MN arrays prepared using the MW assisted process had equivalent properties to those prepared conventionally but can be produced 30 times faster. Finally, an in vitro caffeine permeation across excised porcine skin was performed using conventional and MW-prepared MN arrays. The release profiles obtained can be considered equivalent, delivering in both cases 3000–3500 μg of caffeine after 24 h.

Mapping neutral, ion and electron number densities within laser ablated plasma plumes

Spatially and temporally varying neutral, ion and electron number densities have been mapped out within laser ablated plasma plumes expanding into vacuum. Ablation of a magnesium target was performed using a KrF laser, 30 ns pulse duration and 248 nm wavelength. During the initial stage of plasma expansion (t <EQ 100 ns) interferometry has been used to obtain line averaged electron number densities, for laser power densities on target in the range 1.3 - 3.0 X 108 W/cm2. Later in the plasma expansion (t equals 1 microsecond(s) ) simultaneous absorption and laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to determine 3D neutral and ion number densities, for a power density equal to 6.7 X 107 W/cm2. Two distinct regions within the plume were identified. One is a fast component (approximately 106 cm-1) consisting of ions and neutrals with maximum number densities observed to be approximately 30 and 4 X 1012 cm-3 respectively, and the second consists of slow moving neutral material at a number density of up to 1015 cm-3. Additionally a Langmuir probe has been used to obtain ion and electron number densities at very late times in the plasma expansion (1 microsecond(s) <EQ t <EQ 15 microsecond(s) ). A copper target was ablated using a Nd:YAG laser, 7.5 ns duration and 532 nm (2 (omega) ) wavelength, with a power density on target equal to 6 X 108 W/cm2. Two regions within the plume with different velocities were observed. Within a fast component (approximately 3 X 106 cms-1) electron and ion number densities of the order 5 X 1012 cm-3 were observed and within the second slower component (approximately 106 cms-1) electron and ion number densities of the order 1 - 2 X 1013 cm-3 were determined.