Cruciferous vegetables lower blood pressure in adults with mildly elevated blood pressure in a randomized, controlled, crossover trial: the VEgetableS for vaScular hEaLth (VESSEL) study.

Background: Higher cruciferous vegetable intake is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in observational studies. The pathways involved remain uncertain. We aimed to determine whether cruciferous vegetable intake (active) lowers 24-h brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP; primary outcome) compared to root and squash vegetables (control) in Australian adults with mildly elevated BP (SBP 120-160 mmHg inclusive).

Simultaneous extraction and quantitative analysis of -Methyl-l-Cysteine Sulfoxide, sulforaphane and glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Sulfur containing compounds including glucosinolates (GLS), sulforaphane (SFN) and S-methyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide (SMCSO) have been proposed to be partly responsible for the beneficial health effects of cruciferous vegetables. As such, greater understanding of their measurements within foods is important to estimate intake in humans and to inform dietary intervention studies. Herein is described a simple and sensitive method for simultaneous analysis of 20 GLS, SFN and SMCSO by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Lipidomic features of honey bee and colony health during limited supplementary feeding.

Honey bee nutritional health depends on nectar and pollen, which provide the main source of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids to individual bees. During malnutrition, insect metabolism accesses fat body reserves. However, this process in bees and its repercussions at the colony level are poorly understood.

Effect of fire on characteristics of dissolved organic matter in forested catchments in the Mediterranean biome: A review.

Fires in forested catchments pose a water contamination risk from fire-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM). Fire events are expected to increase under a projection of warmer and drier climatic conditions; therefore, understanding the consequences of fire-derived DOM is critical for water supply and management of drinking water and catchments. This paper addresses how fire regime - the intensity, severity and frequency of fires - influences DOM quantity and composition in surface waters in forested catchments, and how long it takes for water quality to recover to pre-fire levels.

Sensitive and quantitative determination of short-chain fatty acids in human serum using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are increasingly being monitored to elucidate the link between gut health and disease. These metabolites are routinely measured in faeces, but their determination in serum is more challenging due to their low concentrations. A method for the determination of eight SCFAs in serum is described here.

Data supporting development and validation of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of bile acids in feces.

Measuring bile acids in feces has an important role in disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and can be considered a measure of health status. Therefore, the primary aim was to develop a sensitive, robust, and high throughput liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method with minimal sample preparation for quantitative determination of bile acids in human feces applicable to large cohorts. Due to the chemical diversity of bile acids, their wide concentration range in feces, and the complexity of feces itself, developing a sensitive and selective analytical method for bile acids is challenging.

Detecting Sex-Related Changes to the Metabolome of a Critically Endangered Freshwater Crayfish During the Mating Season.

Captive breeding is a vital tool in the conservation of highly endangered species, as it is for the Margaret River hairy marron, , from the south west of Australia. A close relative, , has almost completely displaced in the wild and is a successful aquaculture species, whereas has performed poorly in captivity. We used untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to obtain metabolomic profiles of female and male held in controlled aquarium conditions during their reproductive period.

Extraction and quantitative determination of bile acids in feces.

With rapid advances in gut microbiome research, fecal bile acids are increasingly being monitored as potential biomarkers of diet related disease susceptibility. As such, rapid, robust and reliable methods for their analysis are of increasing importance. Herein is described a simple extraction method for the analysis of bile acids in feces suitable for subsequent quantification by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.

Differential gene expression analysis reveals pathways important in early post-traumatic osteoarthritis in an equine model.

Background: Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a common and significant problem in equine athletes. It is a disease of the entire joint, with the synovium thought to be a key player in disease onset and progression due to its role in inflammation. The development of effective tools for early diagnosis and treatment of PTOA remains an elusive goal.

Phenolic composition of 91 Australian apple varieties: towards understanding their health attributes.

Introduction: Apples, an important contributor to total dietary phenolic intake, are associated with cardiovascular health benefits. Determining the phenolic composition of apples, their individual variation across varieties, and the phenolic compounds present in plasma after apple consumption is integral to understanding the effects of apple phenolics on cardiovascular health.

Methods: Using liquid chromatography we quantified five important polyphenols and one phenolic acid with potential health benefits: quercetin glycosides, (-)-epicatechin, procyanidin B2, phloridzin, anthocyanins, and chlorogenic acid, in the skin and flesh of 19 apple varieties and 72 breeding selections from the Australian National Apple Breeding program.

The study protocol for a pseudo-randomised pre-post designed controlled intervention trial to study the effects of a 7-week cooking program on self-efficacy and biomarkers of health: the ECU lifestyle and biomarkers get connected study (ECULABJMOF) including the Jamie's Ministry of Food WA participant experience.

Background: Australia, like other nations, has experienced a shift in dietary patterns away from home cooking of nutritious foods, towards a reliance on pre-prepared convenience meals. These are typically energy-dense, nutrient-poor and contribute to the rising prevalence of obesity and chronic disease burden. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether a community-based cooking program instigated a change to participants' skills, attitudes, knowledge, enjoyment and satisfaction of cooking and cooking confidence (self-efficacy).

A randomised controlled crossover trial investigating the short-term effects of different types of vegetables on vascular and metabolic function in middle-aged and older adults with mildly elevated blood pressure: the VEgetableS for vaScular hEaLth (VESSEL) study protocol.

Background: A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is recommended for cardiovascular health. However, the majority of Australians do not consume the recommended number of vegetable servings each day. Furthermore, intakes of vegetables considered to have the greatest cardiovascular benefit are often very low.

Characterizing the Composition of the Pediatric Gut Microbiome: A Systematic Review.

The consortium of trillions of microorganisms that live inside the human gut are integral to health. Little has been done to collate and characterize the microbiome of children. A systematic review was undertaken to address this gap (PROSPERO ID: CRD42018109599).

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of polyphenolic compounds in human plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A diet rich in polyphenolic compounds has recognized health benefits, and as such is routinely monitored as part of dietary intervention studies. A method for the simultaneous determination of 36 phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry is described here. The target analytes were quantified based on their specific mass spectral fragments using a selected reaction monitoring approach.

Long-term Paleolithic diet is associated with lower resistant starch intake, different gut microbiota composition and increased serum TMAO concentrations.

Background: The Paleolithic diet is promoted worldwide for improved gut health. However, there is little evidence available to support these claims, with existing literature examining anthropometric and cardiometabolic outcomes.

Objective: To determine the association between dietary intake, markers of colonic health, microbiota, and serum trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a gut-derived metabolite associated with cardiovascular disease.

The Not-so-Sterile Womb: Evidence That the Human Fetus Is Exposed to Bacteria Prior to Birth.

The human microbiome includes trillions of bacteria, many of which play a vital role in host physiology. Numerous studies have now detected bacterial DNA in first-pass meconium and amniotic fluid samples, suggesting that the human microbiome may commence . However, these data have remained contentious due to underlying contamination issues.

Untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analysis of kidney and liver tissue from the Lewis Polycystic Kidney rat.

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) encompasses a spectrum of inherited disorders that lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). There is no cure for PKD and current treatment options are limited to renal replacement therapy and transplantation. A better understanding of the pathobiology of PKD is needed for the development of new, less invasive treatments.

Development and validation of a simple LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of trimethylamine-N-oxide and branched chain amino acids in human serum.

Serum branched chain amino acids and trimethylamine-N-oxide are monitored as potential indicators of diabetes and cardiovascular health respectively. A rapid method for their simultaneous determination using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry is described here. Branched chain amino acids and trimethylamine-N-oxide were quantified based on their specific MS/MS fragments using a selected reaction monitoring approach.

IMass Time: The Future, in Future!

Joseph John Thomson discovered and proved the existence of electrons through a series of experiments. His work earned him a Nobel Prize in 1906 and initiated the era of mass spectrometry (MS). In the intervening time, other researchers have also been awarded the Nobel Prize for significant advances in MS technology.

A Paleolithic diet lowers resistant starch intake but does not affect serum trimethylamine-N-oxide concentrations in healthy women.

The Paleolithic diet excludes two major sources of fibre, grains and legumes. However, it is not known whether this results in changes to resistant starch (RS) consumption. Serum trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is produced mainly from colonic fermentation and hepatic conversion of animal protein and is implicated in CVD, but changes in RS intake may alter concentrations.

The Microbiome of the Gastrointestinal Tract of a Range-Shifting Marine Herbivorous Fish.

Globally, marine species' distributions are being modified due to rising ocean temperatures. Increasing evidence suggests a circum-global pattern of poleward extensions in the distributions of many tropical herbivorous species, including the ecologically important rabbitfish . Adaptability of a species to such new environments may be heavily influenced by the composition of their gastrointestinal microbe fauna, which is fundamentally important to animal health.

Instability-Induced Pattern Transformation in Soft Metamaterial with Hexagonal Networks for Tunable Wave Propagation.

Instability-induced pattern transformations of the architectured multi-phase soft metamaterial under bi-axial compression were explored. The soft metamaterial is composed of two phases: a soft matrix and a reinforcing hexagonal network embedded in the matrix. Equi-biaxial loading is found to induce both micro- and macro- instabilities in the networked architecture.

Characterizing the plasma metabolome during and following a maximal exercise cycling test.

Although complex in nature, a number of metabolites have been implicated in the onset of exercise-induced fatigue. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in the plasma metabolome and specifically, to identify candidate metabolites associated with the onset of fatigue during prolonged cycling. Eighteen healthy and recreationally active men (mean ± SD; age: 24.

The effects of morphological irregularity on the mechanical behavior of interdigitated biological sutures under tension.

Irregular interdigitated morphology is prevalent in biological sutures in nature. Suture complexity index has long been recognized as the most important morphological parameter to govern the mechanical properties of biological sutures. However, the suture complexity index alone does not reflect all aspects of suture morphology.

Future climate change scenarios differentially affect three abundant algal species in southwestern Australia.

Three species of macroalgae (Ecklonia radiata, Sargassum linearifolium, and Laurencia brongniartii) were subjected to future climate change conditions, tested directly for changes in their physiology and chemical ecology, and used in feeding assays with local herbivores to identify the indirect effects of climatic stressors on subsequent levels of herbivory. Each alga had distinct physical and chemical responses to the changes in environmental conditions. In high temperature conditions, S.