Involvement of the food industry in nutrition conferences in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Objective: Identify and characterise the food industry's involvement in nutrition and dietetics national and regional events in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Design: Between February and April 2020, we conducted desk-based searches for nutrition and dietetics events held in the region between January 2018 and December 2019. Online freely accessible, publicly available information was collected on the involvement of the food industry through: sponsorship of events; sponsorship of sessions; speakers from the food industry; scholarships, fellowship, grants, awards and other prizes and; exhibition space/booths.

Evaluation of the Stability of Fatty Acids in Erythrocytes from Human Umbilical Cord.

The interest in the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the umbilical cord blood (UCB) is increasing, but the stability of erythrocyte PUFA in these samples during storage and washing of the erythrocytes has not been directly evaluated. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the lapse of time on the fatty acid (FA) content from UCB sample collection and maintained at 4 °C (0-12 h) until erythrocyte separation and washing. Palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), 18:1n-7/n-9, linoleic acid (18:2n-6), arachidonic acid (20:4n-6), 22:4n-6, eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) together accounted for 87% of the FA profile in the umbilical vein erythrocytes.

Pectin Esterification Degree in the Bioavailability of Non-heme Iron in Women.

Pectins are a type of soluble fiber present in natural and processed foods. Evidence regarding the effect of esterification degree of pectins on iron absorption in humans is scarce. In the present study, the effect of pectins with different degrees of esterification on non-heme iron absorption in women was evaluated.

Effect of phytic acid, tannic acid and pectin on fasting iron bioavailability both in the presence and absence of calcium.

Objective: To determine the effect of phytic acid, tannic acid and pectin on fasting non-heme iron bioavailability in both the presence and absence of calcium.

Research Methods: Twenty-eight apparently healthy adult females participated in two iron absorption studies using radioactive iron isotopes ((59)Fe and (55)Fe). One group received 5mg of iron (as FeSO4) alone (control), together with 10mg of phytic acid, 100mg of tannic acid and 250mg of pectin (study A), on different days.

The dynamics of fluorescently labeled endogenous gurken mRNA in Drosophila.

During Drosophila oogenesis, the targeted localization of gurken (grk) mRNA leads to the establishment of the axis polarity of the egg. In early stages of oogenesis, grk mRNA is found at the posterior of the oocyte, whereas in the later stages grk mRNA is positioned at the dorsal anterior corner of the oocyte. In order to visualize the real-time localization and anchorage of endogenous grk mRNA in living oocytes, we have utilized the MS2-MCP system.

Expression and function of variants of slob, slowpoke channel binding protein, in Drosophila.

Slob binds to and modulates the Drosophila Slowpoke (dSlo) calcium-activated potassium channel and also recruits the ubiquitous signaling protein 14-3-3 to the channel regulatory complex. RT-PCR reveals the presence of multiple slob transcripts in Drosophila heads. The transcripts are predicted to encode proteins that we call Slob51 (kDa), Slob57, Slob65, and Slob71.

The amino terminus of Slob, Slowpoke channel binding protein, critically influences its modulation of the channel.

The Drosophila Slowpoke calcium-dependent potassium channel (dSlo) binding protein Slob was discovered by a yeast two-hybrid screen using the carboxy-terminal tail region of dSlo as bait. Slob binds to and modulates the dSlo channel. We have found that there are several Slob proteins, resulting from multiple translational start sites and alternative splicing, and have named them based on their molecular weights (in kD).

Pattern of distribution and cycling of SLOB, Slowpoke channel binding protein, in Drosophila.

Background: SLOB binds to and modulates the activity of the Drosophila Slowpoke (dSlo) calcium activated potassium channel. Recent microarray analyses demonstrated circadian cycling of slob mRNA.

Results: We report the mRNA and protein expression pattern of slob in Drosophila heads.