Zinc protoporphyrin levels in COVID-19 are indicative of iron deficiency and potential predictor of disease severity.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has a severe impact on all aspects of patient care. Among the numerous biomarkers of potential validity for diagnostic and clinical management of COVID-19 are biomarkers at the interface of iron metabolism and inflammation.

Methods: The follow-up study included 54 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 with a moderate and severe/critical form of the disease.

Comprehensive Characterization and Relative Quantification of α-Amylase/Trypsin Inhibitors from Wheat Cultivars by Targeted HPLC-MS/MS.

The α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) are discussed as being responsible for non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS), besides being known as allergenic components for baker's asthma. Different approaches for characterization and quantification including proteomics-based methods for wheat ATIs have been documented. In these studies generally the major ATIs have been addressed.

Technical note: Rapid field test for the quantification of vitamin E, β-carotene, and vitamin A in whole blood and plasma of dairy cattle.

Fast and easy tests for quantifying fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin E and vitamin A, as well as β-carotene, in whole blood without a need to preprocess blood samples could facilitate assessment of the vitamin status of dairy cattle. The objective of this study was to validate a field-portable fluorometer/spectrophotometer assay for the rapid quantification of these vitamins in whole blood and plasma of dairy cows and calves. We measured the concentrations of vitamin E and β-carotene in whole blood and plasma from 28 dairy cows and 11 calves using the iCheck test (BioAnalyt GmbH, Teltow, Germany) and compared the results with the current analytical standard (HPLC) in 2 independent laboratories, one at the University of Potsdam (Germany) and at one at DSM Nutritional Products Ltd.

Low breastmilk vitamin A concentration is prevalent in rural Ethiopia.

Background: There is scant information on the breastmilk vitamin A (BMVA) concentration of lactating women in developing countries, partly due to lack of methods applicable in-field.

Objective: To assess BMVA concentrations of samples collected from lactating women of children aged 6-23 months, in Mecha district, Ethiopia.

Subjects/methods: Data on socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics were collected from randomly selected lactating women (n = 104).

Association of retinol binding protein 4 and transthyretin with triglyceride levels and insulin resistance in rural thais with high type 2 diabetes risk.

Background: Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), a protein secreted by adipocytes and bound in plasma to transthyretin (TTR), has been associated with obesity, the early phase of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between RBP4, TTR, triglyceride (TG) and type 2 diabetes risk in rural Thailand.

Methods: We measured the serum RBP4, TTR, glucose, triglyceride and insulin levels, and glucose tolerance of 167 volunteers from Sung Noen District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand.

Vitamin D-binding protein and its polymorphisms as a predictor for metabolic syndrome.

Aim: To investigate the relationship of vitamin D-binding protein (GC) and genetic variation of GC (rs4588, rs7041 and rs2282679) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the Thai population.

Materials & Methods: GC-globulin concentrations were measured by quantitative western blot analysis in 401 adults. All participants were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays.

Determination of lipid profiles in serum of obese ponies before and after weight reduction by using multi-one-dimensional thin-layer chromatography.

Obesity is a key component of equine metabolic syndrome, which is highly associated with laminitis. Feed restriction and/or exercise are known to alleviate the detrimental effects of insulin resistance in obese ponies. However, little is known about changes in the serum lipid patterns due to weight reduction and its association with disease outcomes.

Lutein Specific Relationships among Some Spectrophotometric and Colorimetric Parameters of Chicken Egg Yolk.

Lutein is an essential dietary carotenoid with health benefits and is inter alia responsible for the colouration of egg yolk. The relationship between lutein accumulation and egg yolk colouration was therefore studied in more detail. After feeding a low-luteine diet for 21 days, 14 birds (Lohmann brown hens aged 20 weeks) were fed a diet containing marigold (80 mg lutein/kg feed) and 14 other birds were fed a diet containing oleoresin (45 mg lutein/kg feed) for 21 days; for both groups of birds, this feeding period was followed by withdrawal for 21 days.

Adolescent health in rural Ghana: A cross-sectional study on the co-occurrence of infectious diseases, malnutrition and cardio-metabolic risk factors.

In sub-Saharan Africa, infectious diseases and malnutrition constitute the main health problems in children, while adolescents and adults are increasingly facing cardio-metabolic conditions. Among adolescents as the largest population group in this region, we investigated the co-occurrence of infectious diseases, malnutrition and cardio-metabolic risk factors (CRFs), and evaluated demographic, socio-economic and medical risk factors for these entities. In a cross-sectional study among 188 adolescents in rural Ghana, malarial infection, common infectious diseases and Body Mass Index were assessed.

Validation of blood vitamin A concentrations in cattle: comparison of a new cow-side test (iCheck™ FLUORO) with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Background: Plasma concentration of retinol is an accepted indicator to assess the vitamin A (retinol) status in cattle. However, the determination of vitamin A requires a time consuming multi-step procedure, which needs specific equipment to perform extraction, centrifugation or saponification prior to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Methods: The concentrations of retinol in whole blood (n = 10), plasma (n = 132) and serum (n = 61) were measured by a new rapid cow-side test (iCheck™ FLUORO) and compared with those by HPLC in two independent laboratories in Germany (DE) and Japan (JP).

First trimester TTR-RBP4-ROH complex and angiogenic factors in the prediction of small for gestational age infant's outcome.

Purpose: To study the role of the TTR-RBP4-ROH complex components (transthyretin, serum retinol binding protein, retinol) and of angiogenic factors PlGF (placental growth factor) and sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1) in pregnancies complicated by small for gestational age infants (SGA).

Methods: Case control study conducted on maternal serum collected between 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. TTR, RBP4, ROH, PlGF and sFlt-1 were measured in SGA patients (birth weight <10%) who delivered at term (n = 37) and before 37 weeks of gestation (n = 17) and in a matched control group with uneventful pregnancies (n = 37).

Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system to study post-translational modifications of human transthyretin.

The visceral protein transthyretin (TTR) is frequently affected by oxidative post-translational protein modifications (PTPMs) in various diseases. Thus, better insight into structure-function relationships due to oxidative PTPMs of TTR should contribute to the understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms. While the in vivo analysis of TTR in mammalian models is complex, time- and resource-consuming, transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans expressing hTTR provide an optimal model for the in vivo identification and characterization of drug-mediated oxidative PTPMs of hTTR by means of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization - time of flight - mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS).

Age-associated and breed-associated variations in haematological and biochemical variables in young labrador retriever and miniature schnauzer dogs.

Breed, sex and age effects on haematological and biochemical variables were investigated in 24 labrador retriever and 25 miniature schnauzer dogs during the first year of life. Blood samples were taken regularly between weeks 8 and 52. White blood cell and red blood cell counts, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell haemoglobin concentration, platelet count as well as total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatine and urea were evaluated.

Influence of hepatic load from far-off dry period to early postpartum period on the first postpartum ovulation and accompanying subsequent fertility in dairy cows.

The aim of the present study was to investigate nutritional and metabolic parameters during the dry and early postpartum periods of ovulatory and anovulatory cows, as well as their postpartum reproductive performance. Blood samples from 20 multiparous Holstein cows were collected once a week from the far-off dry period to 3 weeks postpartum. Early postpartum (0-3 weeks) ovulation was confirmed using plasma progesterone concentration profiles, and cows were considered ovulatory if they had resumed luteal activity by this point (n = 9), whereas cows that had not were considered anovulatory (n = 11).

Impact of Increasing Dietary Calcium Levels on Calcium Excretion and Vitamin D Metabolites in the Blood of Healthy Adult Cats.

Background: Dietary calcium (Ca) concentrations might affect regulatory pathways within the Ca and vitamin D metabolism and consequently excretory mechanisms. Considering large variations in Ca concentrations of feline diets, the physiological impact on Ca homeostasis has not been evaluated to date. In the present study, diets with increasing concentrations of dicalcium phosphate were offered to ten healthy adult cats (Ca/phosphorus (P): 6.

Effect of vitamin A supplementation on the urinary retinol excretion in very low birth weight infants.

Unlabelled: Despite high-dose vitamin A supplementation of very low birth weight infants (VLBW, <1500 g), their vitamin A status does not improve substantially. Unknown is the impact of urinary retinol excretion on the serum retinol concentration in these infants. Therefore, the effect of high-dose vitamin A supplementation on the urinary vitamin A excretion in VLBW infants was investigated.

The Influence of Iron and Zinc Supplementation on the Bioavailability of Provitamin A Carotenoids from Papaya Following Consumption of a Vitamin A-Deficient Diet.

Iron deficiency anemia, zinc and vitamin A deficiencies are serious public health problems in Cameroon, as in many developing countries. Local vegetables which are sources of provitamin A carotenoids (PACs) can be used to improve vitamin A intakes. However, traditional meals are often unable to cover zinc and iron needs.

Vitamin A: potential misclassification of vitamin A status among patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in urban Ghana.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a double burden of malnutrition: vitamin A deficiency (VAD) prevails, whereas the nutrition-related chronic conditions type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension are emerging. Serum retinol—a VAD marker—increases in kidney disease and decreases in inflammation, which can partly be attributed to alterations in the vitamin A-transport proteins retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and prealbumin. Kidney dysfunction and inflammation commonly accompany T2D and hypertension.

First trimester concentrations of the TTR-RBP4-retinol complex components as early markers of insulin-treated gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between first trimester maternal serum levels of the TTR-RBP4-ROH complex components and the later insurgence of an altered glucose metabolism during pregnancy.

Methods: Retrospective case control study including 96 patients between the 12th and 14th week of gestation, 32 that developed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), respectively, 21 non-insulin-treated (dGDM) and 11 insulin-treated (iGDM), 20 large for gestational age fetuses (LGA) without GDM and 44 patients with normal outcome as control. Serum concentrations of RBP4 and TTR were assessed by ELISA; serum concentration of ROH by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (rpHPLC).

Post-translational modifications of transthyretin affect the triiodonine-binding potential.

Transthyretin (TTR) is a visceral protein, which facilitates the transport of thyroid hormones in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The homotetrameric structure of TTR enables the simultaneous binding of two thyroid hormones per molecule. Each TTR subunit provides a single cysteine residue (Cys10 ), which is frequently affected by oxidative post-translational modifications.

Relationship between urinary Tamm-Horsfall protein excretion and renal function in dogs with naturally occurring renal disease.

Background: Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) is physiologically excreted in urine, but little is known about the role of THP in the diagnosis of renal disease in dogs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate to which extent naturally occurring renal disease affects the urinary excretion of THP.

Methods: Dogs were divided into 5 groups according to plasma creatinine concentration, urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (UP/UC), and exogenous plasma creatinine clearance (P-ClCr ) rates: Group A (healthy control dogs; n = 8), nonazotemic and nonproteinuric dogs, with P-ClCr rates > 90 mL/min/m(2) ; group B (n = 25), nonazotemic and nonproteinuric dogs with reduced P-ClCr rates (51-89 mL/min/m(2) ); group C (n = 7), nonazotemic but proteinuric dogs with P-ClCr rates 53-98 mL/min/m(2) ; group D (n = 8), azotemic and borderline proteinuric dogs (P-ClCr rates: 22-45 mL/min/m(2) ); and group E (n = 15), azotemic and proteinuric dogs (not tested for P-ClCr ).

Energy intake, growth rate and body composition of young Labrador Retrievers and Miniature Schnauzers fed different dietary levels of vitamin A.

Research in rodents has shown that dietary vitamin A reduces body fat by enhancing fat mobilisation and energy utilisation; however, their effects in growing dogs remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the development of body weight and body composition and compared observed energy intake with predicted energy intake in forty-nine puppies from two breeds (twenty-four Labrador Retriever (LAB) and twenty-five Miniature Schnauzer (MS)). A total of four different diets with increasing vitamin A content between 5·24 and 104·80 μmol retinol (5000-100 000 IU vitamin A)/4184 kJ (1000 kcal) metabolisable energy were fed from the age of 8 weeks up to 52 (MS) and 78 weeks (LAB).

The relative dose response test based on retinol-binding protein 4 is not suitable to assess vitamin A status in very low birth weight infants.

Background: The relative dose response (RDR) test, which quantifies the increase in serum retinol after vitamin A administration, is a qualitative measure of liver vitamin A stores. Particularly in preterm infants, the feasibility of the RDR test involving blood is critically dependent on small sample volumes.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether the RDR calculated with retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) might be a substitute for the classical retinol-based RDR test for assessing vitamin A status in very preterm infants.

Validation of a user-friendly and rapid method for quantifying iodine content of salt.

Background: Despite considerable progress made in the past decade through salt iodization programs, over 2 billion people worldwide still have inadequate iodine intake, with devastating consequences for brain development and intellectual capacity. To optimize these programs with regard to salt iodine content, careful monitoring of salt iodine content is essential, but few methods are available to quantitatively measure iodine concentration in a simple, fast, and safe way.

Objective: We have validated a newly developed device that quantitatively measures the content of potassium iodate in salt in a simple, safe, and rapid way.

Low plasma α-tocopherol concentrations and adverse clinical outcomes in diabetic hemodialysis patients.

Background And Objectives: Trials with the antioxidant vitamin E have failed to show benefit in the general population. Considering the different causes of death in ESRD, this study investigated the association between plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol and specific clinical outcomes in diabetic hemodialysis patients.

Design, Settings, Participants, & Measurements: In 1046 diabetic hemodialysis patients (participants of the German Diabetes and Dialysis Study), α-tocopherol was measured in plasma by reversed-phase HPLC.