Evaluation of the ScopeControl endoscope test system in six hospitals in The Netherlands.

As rigid endoscopes are re-used after minimal invasive surgery, they degrade over time. To guarantee the optical quality of a rigid endoscope, the ScopeControl has been developed to measure key optical parameters such as, light transmission (LT), color correctness (CC), focus (FC), fiber transmission (FT), viewing angle (VA) and field of view (FV). To evaluate the performance of the ScopeControl, five ScopeControls SV (study version) have been tested in six hospitals in the Netherlands.

Human gut Bacteroidetes can utilize yeast mannan through a selfish mechanism.

Yeasts, which have been a component of the human diet for at least 7,000 years, possess an elaborate cell wall α-mannan. The influence of yeast mannan on the ecology of the human microbiota is unknown. Here we show that yeast α-mannan is a viable food source for the Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a dominant member of the microbiota.

Maintenance of energy expenditure on high-protein vs. high-carbohydrate diets at a constant body weight may prevent a positive energy balance.

Background & Aims: Relatively high-protein diets are effective for body weight loss, and subsequent weight maintenance, yet it remains to be shown whether these diets would prevent a positive energy balance. Therefore, high-protein diet studies at a constant body weight are necessary. The objective was to determine fullness, energy expenditure, and macronutrient balances on a high-protein low-carbohydrate (HPLC) diet compared with a high-carbohydrate low-protein (HCLP) diet at a constant body weight, and to assess whether effects are transient or sustained after 12 weeks.

Superresolution imaging captures carbohydrate utilization dynamics in human gut symbionts.

Unlabelled: Gut microbes play a key role in human health and nutrition by catabolizing a wide variety of glycans via enzymatic activities that are not encoded in the human genome. The ability to recognize and process carbohydrates strongly influences the structure of the gut microbial community. While the effects of diet on the microbiota are well documented, little is known about the molecular processes driving metabolism.

Circular trimers of gelatinase B/matrix metalloproteinase-9 constitute a distinct population of functional enzyme molecules differentially regulated by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1.

Gelatinase B/matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) (EC 3.4.24.

The potential of a high protein-low carbohydrate diet to preserve intrahepatic triglyceride content in healthy humans.

Background: Protein supplementation has been shown to reduce the increases in intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content induced by acute hypercaloric high-fat and high-fructose diets in humans.

Objective: To assess the effect of a 12-wk iso-energetic high protein-low carbohydrate (HPLC) diet compared with an iso-energetic high carbohydrate-low protein (HCLP) diet on IHTG content in healthy non-obese subjects, at a constant body weight.

Design: Seven men and nine women [mean ± SD age: 24 ± 5 y; BMI: 22.

Multifunctional nutrient-binding proteins adapt human symbiotic bacteria for glycan competition in the gut by separately promoting enhanced sensing and catalysis.

Unlabelled: To compete for the dynamic stream of nutrients flowing into their ecosystem, colonic bacteria must respond rapidly to new resources and then catabolize them efficiently once they are detected. The Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron starch utilization system (Sus) is a model for nutrient acquisition by symbiotic gut bacteria, which harbor thousands of related Sus-like systems. Structural investigation of the four Sus outer membrane proteins (SusD, -E, -F, and -G) revealed that they contain a total of eight starch-binding sites that we demonstrated, using genetic and biochemical approaches, to play distinct roles in starch metabolism in vitro and in vivo in gnotobiotic mice.

No protein intake compensation for insufficient indispensable amino acid intake with a low-protein diet for 12 days.

Background: Protein quality evaluation aims to determine the capacity of food sources and diets to meet protein and indispensable amino acid (IAA) requirements. This study determined whether nitrogen balance was affected and whether dietary IAA were adequately obtained from the ad libitum consumption of diets at three levels of protein from different primary sources for 12 days.

Methods: Two 12-day randomized crossover design trials were conducted in healthy subjects [n = 70/67 (M/F); age: 19-70 y; BMI: 18.

Interference with glycosaminoglycan-chemokine interactions with a probe to alter leukocyte recruitment and inflammation in vivo.

In vivo leukocyte recruitment is not fully understood and may result from interactions of chemokines with glycosaminoglycans/GAGs. We previously showed that chlorite-oxidized oxyamylose/COAM binds the neutrophil chemokine GCP-2/CXCL6. Here, mouse chemokine binding by COAM was studied systematically and binding affinities of chemokines to COAM versus GAGs were compared.

Functional links between gelatinase B/matrix metalloproteinase-9 and prominin-1/CD133 in diabetic retinal vasculopathy and neuropathy.

Retinopathy, a common cause of blindness, is a hallmark of diabetes and depends on two pathological mechanisms: vasculopathy and neuropathy. Whereas vasculopathy is well understood and has been associated with changes in gelatinase B/matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and other vasculotropic factors, specific markers for diabetes-induced retinal neuropathy are not yet described. Neuropathy may result from damages to the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) and from loss of neuroprotective factors.

Incidence of sudden cardiac death in Germany: results from an emergency medical service registry in Lower Saxony.

Aims: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is among the most common causes of death in western countries including Germany. Whereas risk stratification and primary prevention is still insufficient, we also lack accurate incidence estimates. Current estimates vary widely (18.

The devil lies in the details: how variations in polysaccharide fine-structure impact the physiology and evolution of gut microbes.

The critical importance of gastrointestinal microbes to digestion of dietary fiber in humans and other mammals has been appreciated for decades. Symbiotic microorganisms expand mammalian digestive physiology by providing an armament of diverse polysaccharide-degrading enzymes, which are largely absent in mammalian genomes. By out-sourcing this aspect of digestive physiology to our gut microbes, we maximize our ability to adapt to different carbohydrate nutrients on timescales as short as several hours due to the ability of the gut microbial community to rapidly alter its physiology from meal to meal.

Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.

The QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization.

Centrifugal pump performance during low-flow extracorporeal CO2 removal; safety considerations.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the hydrodynamic performance and gaseous microemboli (GME) activity of two centrifugal pumps for possible use in low-flow extracorporeal CO2 removal.

Materials & Methods: The performance of a Rotassist 2.8 and a Rotaflow 32 centrifugal pump (Maquet Cardiopulmonary AG, Hirrlingen, Germany) was evaluated in a water-glycerine mixture-filled in vitro circuit that enabled measurement of pressures and GME at the pump inlet and pump outlet.

Remote monitoring of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Problems and implications using a telemonitoring system.

The rising number of implantable devices has led to an increase in device-related workload, e.g., regular interrogation follow-up visits.

Pregnancy at late premenopausal age: outcome of pregnancies at 45 years and older in Flanders, Belgium.

To describe the obstetric outcome in women at ages ≥ 45. A retrospective cohort study on a large existing database covering all deliveries in the Flanders region, Belgium, was performed, comparing obstetric outcomes at age 25, 35, 40 and 45 or older, for the period 2005-2010. In the period studied, 421 women gave birth at maternal age ≥ 45 vs 3,405, 15,206, 22,586 at ages 40, 35 and 25, respectively.

Protein leverage effects of beef protein on energy intake in humans.

Background: The protein leverage hypothesis requires specific evidence that protein intake is regulated more strongly than energy intake.

Objective: The objective was to determine ad libitum energy intake, body weight changes, appetite profile, and nitrogen balance in response to 3 diets with different protein-to-carbohydrate + fat ratios over 12 consecutive days, with beef as a source of protein.

Design: A 3-arm, 12-d randomized crossover study was performed in 30 men and 28 women [mean ± SD age: 33 ± 16 y; body mass index (in kg/m²): 24.

Citrullination and proteolytic processing of chemokines by Porphyromonas gingivalis.

The outgrowth of Porphyromonas gingivalis within the inflammatory subgingival plaque is associated with periodontitis characterized by periodontal tissue destruction, loss of alveolar bone, periodontal pocket formation, and eventually, tooth loss. Potential virulence factors of P. gingivalis are peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD), an enzyme modifying free or peptide-bound arginine to citrulline, and the bacterial proteases referred to as gingipains (Rgp and Kgp).

Visually evoked blood flow responses and interaction with dynamic cerebral autoregulation: correction for blood pressure variation.

Visually evoked flow responses recorded using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography are often quantified using a dynamic model of neurovascular coupling. The evoked flow response is seen as the model's response to a visual step input stimulus. However, the continuously active process of dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) compensating cerebral blood flow for blood pressure fluctuations may induce changes of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) as well.

A discrete genetic locus confers xyloglucan metabolism in select human gut Bacteroidetes.

A well-balanced human diet includes a significant intake of non-starch polysaccharides, collectively termed 'dietary fibre', from the cell walls of diverse fruits and vegetables. Owing to the paucity of alimentary enzymes encoded by the human genome, our ability to derive energy from dietary fibre depends on the saccharification and fermentation of complex carbohydrates by the massive microbial community residing in our distal gut. The xyloglucans (XyGs) are a ubiquitous family of highly branched plant cell wall polysaccharides whose mechanism(s) of degradation in the human gut and consequent importance in nutrition have been unclear.

Stratifying fascin and cortactin function in invadopodium formation using inhibitory nanobodies and targeted subcellular delocalization.

Invadopodia are actin-rich protrusions arising through the orchestrated regulation of precursor assembly, stabilization, and maturation, endowing cancer cells with invasive properties. Using nanobodies (antigen-binding domains of Camelid heavy-chain antibodies) as perturbators of intracellular functions and/or protein domains at the level of the endogenous protein, we examined the specific contribution of fascin and cortactin during invadopodium formation in MDA-MB-231 breast and PC-3 prostate cancer cells. A nanobody (K(d)~35 nM, 1:1 stoichiometry) that disrupts fascin F-actin bundling emphasizes the importance of stable actin bundles in invadopodium array organization and turnover, matrix degradation, and cancer cell invasion.

A nanobody targeting the F-actin capping protein CapG restrains breast cancer metastasis.

Introduction: Aberrant turnover of the actin cytoskeleton is intimately associated with cancer cell migration and invasion. Frequently however, evidence is circumstantial, and a reliable assessment of the therapeutic significance of a gene product is offset by lack of inhibitors that target biologic properties of a protein, as most conventional drugs do, instead of the corresponding gene. Proteomic studies have demonstrated overexpression of CapG, a constituent of the actin cytoskeleton, in breast cancer.

Protein diets, body weight loss and weight maintenance.

Purpose Of Review: The review addresses briefly the relevance of protein diets for body weight loss and weight maintenance. The addition of recent findings on age-dependent protein requirements, specific effects of protein intake and protein source, the relevance of the other dietary macronutrients, especially of 'low-carb', 'protein leverage', the mechanisms of protein-induced satiety, and food-reward makes the review up-to-date.

Recent Findings: Different effects of protein diets in different age groups result from age-dependent protein requirements that are primarily related to effects on body composition.