HFE gene mutations and iron status of Brazilian blood donors

Mutations of the HFE and TFR2 genes have been associated with iron overload. HFE and TFR2 mutations were assessed in blood donors, and the relationship with iron status was evaluated. Subjects (N = 542) were recruited at the Hemocentro da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Iron status was not influenced by HFE mutations in women and was independent of blood donation frequency. In contrast, men carrying the HFE 282CY genotype had lower total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) than HFE 282CC genotype carriers. Men who donated blood for the first time and were carriers of the HFE 282CY genotype had higher transferrin saturation values and lower TIBC concentrations than those with the homozygous wild genotype for the HFE C282Y mutation. Moreover, in this group of blood donors, carriers of HFE 63DD plus 63HD genotypes had higher serum ferritin values than those with the homozygous wild genotype for HFE H63D mutation. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that HFE 282CY leads to a 17.21% increase (P = 0.018) and a 83.65% decrease (P = 0.007) in transferrin saturation and TIBC, respectively. In addition, serum ferritin is influenced by age (3.91%, P = 0.001) and the HFE 63HD plus DD genotype (55.84%, P = 0.021). In conclusion, the HFE 282Y and 65C alleles were rare, while the HFE 63D allele was frequent in Brazilian blood donors. The HFE C282Y and H63D mutations were associated with alterations in iron status in blood donors in a gender-dependent manner.

Target-directed catalytic metallodrugs

Most drugs function by binding reversibly to specific biological targets, and therapeutic effects generally require saturation of these targets. One means of decreasing required drug concentrations is incorporation of reactive metal centers that elicit irreversible modification of targets. A common approach has been the design of artificial proteases/nucleases containing metal centers capable of hydrolyzing targeted proteins or nucleic acids. However, these hydrolytic catalysts typically provide relatively low rate constants for target inactivation. Recently, various catalysts were synthesized that use oxidative mechanisms to selectively cleave/inactivate therapeutic targets, including HIV RRE RNA or angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). These oxidative mechanisms, which typically involve reactive oxygen species (ROS), provide access to comparatively high rate constants for target inactivation. Target-binding affinity, co-reactant selectivity, reduction potential, coordination unsaturation, ROS products (metal-associated vsmetal-dissociated; hydroxyl vs superoxide), and multiple-turnover redox chemistry were studied for each catalyst, and these parameters were related to the efficiency, selectivity, and mechanism(s) of inactivation/cleavage of the corresponding target for each catalyst. Important factors for future oxidative catalyst development are 1) positioning of catalyst reduction potential and redox reactivity to match the physiological environment of use, 2) maintenance of catalyst stability by use of chelates with either high denticity or other means of stabilization, such as the square planar geometric stabilization of Ni- and Cu-ATCUN complexes, 3) optimal rate of inactivation of targets relative to the rate of generation of diffusible ROS, 4) targeting and linker domains that afford better control of catalyst orientation, and 5) general bio-availability and drug delivery requirements.

Form, size and volumetric expansion of Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) during soaking

This study analyzed the variation in shape and size of Adzuki beans during soaking at different temperatures. In addition, different mathematical models were fitted to the experimental values of volumetric expansion, selecting the best one. Grains of Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) with moisture content of approximately 0.25 (decimal d.b.) were manually harvested; they were, then, dried to 0.128 (decimal d.b.). The beans were subjected to soaking in distilled water at the temperatures 18 ± 1, 27 ± 1, 36 ± 1, and 45 ± 1 °C, in five repetitions. Recipients containing 80 mL of distilled water and 20 g of beans for each sample were used. The samples were periodically weighed in order to determine the water absorption. After that, the samples were removed from the recipients and placed on filter papers for two minutes to drain the surface water. Water absorption continued until the beans reached the saturation moisture content. It was concluded that, the form of the Adzuki beans was altered regularly, the orthogonal axes expanded differentially in the radial and axial directions, and that the linear model appropriately described the volumetric expansion of the Adzuki beans, among the series of models analyzed for the temperatures 18, 27, 36 and 45 °C.

Transference of lutein during cheese making, color stability, and sensory acceptance of prato cheese

The consumption of lutein is associated with the prevention and reduction of age-related macular degeneration. Its incorporation into Prato cheese as a yellowish food coloring is a valid alternative to increase the daily intake of this compound. However, part of the lutein added may be lost in the whey during the cheese making, or it can be degraded by light during storage, resulting in color changes reducing the sensory acceptance of the cheese. The objectives of this study were to determine the transference of the lutein (dye), added to the milk, in the whey, and cheese, to evaluate the effect of the lutein addition, light exposure, and storage time on the cheese color, and to verify the sensory acceptance of Prato cheese with addition of lutein. The lutein recovery of cheese was 95.25%. Color saturation (chrome) increased during storage time resulting in a cheese with more intense color, but there were no changes in the hue of the cheese. Adjusting the amount of lutein added to Prato cheese may lead to greater acceptance. The high recovery of lutein in the cheese and the fact that the hue remained unchanged during storage under light showed that the incorporation of lutein into Prato cheese is feasible from a technical point of view.

Biochemical changes and color properties of fresh-cut green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv.gina) treated with calcium chloride during storage

Calcium chloride is widely used in industries as a firming agent, and also to extend shelf-life of vegetables. The aim of this study was to determine, the effect of different doses of calcium chloride on biochemical and color properties of fresh-cut green bean. Fresh-cut green beans were dipped for 90 seconds in 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 3% solution of calcium chloride at 25°C. The fresh-cut green bean samples were packaged in polystyrene foam dishes, wrapped with stretch film and stored in a cold room at 5±1°C temperature and 85-90% RH. Calcium chloride treatments did not retain the green color of samples. Whiteness index, browning index and total color difference (ΔE) values of CaCl2 treated samples were high. Saturation index and hue angle were low compared to the control, especially at higher doses of CaCl2. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme activity in samples treated with CaCl2 at 3% doses, was low at the 7th days of storage than with other treatments. Fructose and sucrose content of samples increased in all treatment groups whereas glucose level decreased during the first 4th days of storage.

Postharvest UV-B treatments increased fructose content of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L. cv. Tayfun F1) harvested at different ripening stages

Abstract In the postharvest stage, taste and flavor are the key components of the marketability of tomato. Therefore, greater emphasis is now being placed on improving traits such as sugar content. In this study postharvest ultraviolet-B (UV-B) treatments on sugar, total soluble solids, and color of tomatoes harvested at different stages were investigated. Tomatoes harvested at turning, pink, and red stages were treated with two different doses of UV-B irradiation: UVB4 and UVB8. Color L* and hue angle values of tomatoes treated with UV-B were found to be high, which means the red color of tomatoes was improved. UVB4 treatments increased the color a* and saturation index values of tomatoes at pink and red harvest stage, although it did not affect at the turning stage. Additionally, UV-B irradiation treatments had no effect on sucrose content of the tomatoes. Fructose, glucose, and TSS content of tomatoes treated with UVB8 at red harvest stage were found to be high. Hence, the results obtained from this study are of great importance in terms of providing an increase in the amount of sugar without the need for breeding, and also consumer satisfaction.

The association of markers of oxidative-inflammatory status with malnutrition in hemodialysis patients with serum ferritin lower than 500 ng/mL

INTRODUCTION: Enhanced inflammatory-oxidative status is well established in chronic kidney disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the oxidative- inflammatory status and iron indices in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) with serum ferritin lower than 500ng/mL, and to correlate them with nutritional status. METHOD: In a cross-sectional survey 35 HD patients (23 with normal nutritional status, 12 with Protein-Energy-Wasting syndrome, PEW), and healthy volunteers (n = 35) were studied. Serum concentration of iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation, malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), high-sensitive serum C -reactive protein (hs-CRP) and blood counts were determined. The nutritional status was determined by anthropometric and biochemical criteria. RESULTS: HD patients showed low values of hemoglobin and higher values of ferritin, MDA and PC when compared with healthy volunteers. HD subjects with PEW had higher values of PC and hs-PCR as compared to HD patients with normal nutritional status. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the independent variables PC (Wald Statistic 4.25, p = 0.039) and hs-CRP (Wald Statistic 4.83, p = 0.028) where related with the patients' nutritional condition. CONCLUSION: In HD patients with serum ferritin below 500 ng/mL was observed one association of the markers of oxidative stress and inflammation with poor nutritional status independently of serum ferritin, gender and age.

Soil seed bank variation patterns according to environmental factors in a natural grassland

This research aimed to determine the soil seed bank and its relationship with environmental factors that have an influence in the distribution of the vegetation above the ground in an excluded area of natural grassland in the South of Brazil. Most of the 122 identified species in the seed bank were perennials. Data analysis indicated three distinct community groups, according to the size and composition of the soil seed bank in lowlands with permanent wet soils, in lowlands and in other areas. In general, lowlands were characterized by low-fertility soils, high moisture and aluminum contents, being spatially homogeneous habitats and, therefore, more restricted to vegetation heterogeneity than other parts of the relief. Environmental factors most associated with soil seed bank size and composition were relief position and their co-related soil variables such as: soil moisture content, potassium content, organic matter, basic saturation of cation exchange soil capacity, exchangeable basics sum of the soil and clay soil content. According to that, relief position, associated with combined effects of soil chemical properties related to it, determines the observed variation pattern of the soil seed bank, as a reflection of the vegetation above the area.