Fasting serum concentration of short-chain fatty acids in subjects with microscopic colitis and celiac disease: no difference compared with controls, but between genders.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), particularly propionic and butyric acids, have been shown to have many positive health effects. The amount and type of SCFAs formed from dietary fibre by the colonic microbiota depends on the substrate available and is reflected in blood. The total intake and type of dietary fibre in people with gastrointestinal diseases differs considerably from healthy subjects.

Propionic and butyric acids, formed in the caecum of rats fed highly fermentable dietary fibre, are reflected in portal and aortic serum.

SCFA are important end products formed during colonic fermentation of dietary fibre (DF). It has been suggested that propionic and butyric acids affect metabolic parameters, low-grade systemic inflammation, insulin resistance and obesity. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the various SCFA profiles observed after fermentation in the caecum of rats fed pectin, guar gum and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) were also represented in hepatic portal and aortic serum.

Physicochemical characterisation of dietary fibre components and their ability to bind some process-induced mutagenic heterocyclic amines, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, AαC and MeAαC.

The physicochemical properties of potato fibre, wheat bran and oat samples were investigated, along with their binding capability to heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Potato fibre displayed highest total dietary fibre content (71.8/100g dry weight basis, dwb), followed by wheat bran (57.

Photocatalytic degradation of bacteriophages evidenced by atomic force microscopy.

Methods to supply fresh water are becoming increasingly critical as the world population continues to grow. Small-diameter hazardous microbes such as viruses (20-100 nm diameter) can be filtered by size exclusion, but in this approach the filters are fouled. Thus, in our research, we are investigating an approach in which filters will be reusable.

Dynamics of uranyl peroxide nanocapsules.

Discrete aqueous metal oxide polyionic clusters that include aluminum polycations, transition-metal polyoxometalates, and the actinyl peroxide clusters have captivated the interest of scientists in the realm of both their fundamental and applied chemistries. Yet the counterions for these polycations or polyanions are often ignored, even though they are imperative for solubility, crystallization, purification, and even templating cluster formation. The actinyl peroxide clusters have counterions not only external, but internal to the hollow peroxide capsules.

A comprehensive comparison of transition-metal and actinyl polyoxometalates.

While the d(0) transition-metal POMs of Group V (V(5+), Nb(5+), Ta(5+)) and Group VI (Mo(6+), W(6+)) have been known for more than a century, the actinyl peroxide POMs, specifically those built of uranyl triperoxide or uranyl dihydroxidediperoxide polyhedra, were only realized within the last decade. While virtually every metal on the Periodic Table can form discrete clusters of some type, the actinyls are the only-in addition to the transition-metal POMs- whose chemistry is dictated by the prevalence of the 'yl' oxygen ligand. Thus this emerging structural, solution, and computational chemistry of actinide POMs warrants comparison to the mature chemistry of transition-metal POMs.

A journey inside the U28 nanocapsule.

Anionic uranyl-peroxide U(28) nanocapsules trap cations and other anions inside, whose structures cannot be resolved by X-ray diffraction, owing to crystallographic disorder. DFT calculations enabled the complete characterization of the geometry of these complex systems and also explained the origin of the disorder. The stability of the capsules was strongly influenced by the entrapped cations.

Aqueous compatibility of group IIIA monomers and Nb-polyoxoanions.

Heteropolyanions, [GaNb18O54](15-) and [AlNb18O54](15-), have been synthesized and characterized. These represent the first examples of introducing group III elements into the heteropolyniobate family; achieved via compatible alkaline aqueous chemistry of group IIIA monomers and Nb-polyoxoanions. The open structure of the polyniobate results in expanded coordination of the tetrahedral Ga in aqueous medium.

Blueberry husks and probiotics attenuate colorectal inflammation and oncogenesis, and liver injuries in rats exposed to cycling DSS-treatment.

Long-term colonic inflammation promotes carcinogenesis and histological abnormalities of the liver, and colorectal tumours frequently arise in a background of dysplasia, a precursor of adenomas. Altered colonic microbiota with an increased proportion of bacteria with pro-inflammatory characteristics, have been implicated in neoplastic progression. The composition of the microbiota can be modified by dietary components such as probiotics, polyphenols and dietary fibres.

Antioxidative defense and oxidative stress in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) from differently polluted areas.

High contaminant levels detected in Baltic seals have been associated with various health effects. In this study several parameters related to antioxidative defense and oxidative stress (concentrations of reduced and oxidised glutathione, lipid hydroperoxide and vitamin E, activities of glutathione reductase, peroxidase and S-transferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, catalase, and superoxidedismutase) were measured in the livers of ringed seals from the Baltic Sea and from a less contaminated reference area, Svalbard, Norway. Seals were caught during two different time periods 1996-1997 and 2002-2007, which represent different levels of contamination.

Acoustic deposition with NIMS as a high-throughput enzyme activity assay.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based enzyme assay has been shown to be a useful tool for screening enzymatic activities from environmental samples. Recently, reported approaches for high-specificity multiplexed characterization of enzymatic activities allow for providing detailed information on the range of enzymatic products and monitoring multiple enzymatic reactions. However, the throughput has been limited by the slow liquid-liquid handling and manual analysis.

Uranyl peroxide enhanced nuclear fuel corrosion in seawater.

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident brought together compromised irradiated fuel and large amounts of seawater in a high radiation field. Based on newly acquired thermochemical data for a series of uranyl peroxide compounds containing charge-balancing alkali cations, here we show that nanoscale cage clusters containing as many as 60 uranyl ions, bonded through peroxide and hydroxide bridges, are likely to form in solution or as precipitates under such conditions. These species will enhance the corrosion of the damaged fuel and, being thermodynamically stable and kinetically persistent in the absence of peroxide, they can potentially transport uranium over long distances.

Intravenous delivery of hydrophobin-functionalized porous silicon nanoparticles: stability, plasma protein adsorption and biodistribution.

Rapid immune recognition and subsequent elimination from the circulation hampers the use of many nanomaterials as carriers to targeted drug delivery and controlled release in the intravenous route. Here, we report the effect of a functional self-assembled protein coating on the intravenous biodistribution of (18)F-labeled thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (THCPSi) nanoparticles in rats. (18)F-Radiolabeling enables the sensitive and easy quantification of nanoparticles in tissues using radiometric methods and allows imaging of the nanoparticle biodistribution with positron emission tomography.

Comparison of gamma-ray coincidence and low-background gamma-ray singles spectrometry.

Aerosol samples have been studied under different background conditions using gamma-ray coincidence and low-background gamma-ray singles spectrometric techniques with High-Purity Germanium detectors. Conventional low-background gamma-ray singles counting is a competitive technique when compared to the gamma-gamma coincidence approach in elevated background conditions. However, measurement of gamma-gamma coincidences can clearly make the identification of different nuclides more reliable and efficient than using singles spectrometry alone.

A water-soluble fraction from a by-product of wheat increases the formation of propionic acid in rats compared with diets based on other by-product fractions and oligofructose.

Background: Dietary fibre is fermented by the colonic microbiota to carboxylic acids (CA), with potential health effects associated in particular with butyric and propionic acid.

Objective: To investigate the formation of CA in the hindgut of healthy rats fed dietary fibre from different fractions of wheat shorts, a by-product of the milling of wheat.

Design: Rats were fed dietary fibre (80 g/kg feed per day for 7 days) from wheat shorts and fractions thereof (ethanol-soluble, water-soluble and insoluble fractions), oligofructose (OF) diet and a mixture of oligofructose and raffinose (OR) diet.

Colorectal Oncogenesis and Inflammation in a Rat Model Based on Chronic Inflammation due to Cycling DSS Treatments.

Inflammation is known to be linked with development of colorectal cancer, and the aim was to assess the malignant potential and degree of inflammation in a dextran-sulphate-sodium-(DSS-) induced cyclic colonic tumour model (CTM) in rats and to compare it with the azoxymethane-(AOM-) induced CTM model. Tumours developed in both groups, although, in the DSS group, the colonic mucosa appeared edematous and the number of haemorrhagic erosions and quantity of dysplastic lesions were higher as well as the mucosal concentration of myeloperoxidase and faecal viable count of Enterobacteriaceae. The livers were affected as evaluated by steatosis, parenchymal loss, haemorrhage, and inflammatory infiltrations, and higher proportions of acetate and lower proportions of butyrate in colonic content were found.

Soluble heteropolyniobates from the bottom of Group IA.

Surprising solubility: While it is already well known that [Nb(6)O(19)](8-) salts exhibit an unusual solubility trend, that is, Cs>Rb>K>Na>Li, the heteropolyniobates of Cs and Rb had not yet been crystallized. These very soluble entities have now been obtained from solution by a simple and universal process. New polyoxoniobate geometries are thus unveiled, and the [SiNb(12)O(40)](16-) Keggin ion is characterized in solution for the first time.

Polyoxoniobate chemistry in the 21st century.

Polyoxometalate (POM) chemistry of W, Mo and V is rich and diverse; and new discoveries are frequent and abundant. The prolificacy of this POM chemistry is attributed to rich redox chemistry, an acidic nature that is compatible with addendum metal cations, and most importantly an understanding and ability to control solution behavior. In contrast, the POM chemistry of Nb and Ta (PONb, POTa) is hindered by minimal redox chemistry, alkalinity that is incompatible with the solubility of most metal cations, and a relatively poor understanding of the behavior in aqueous media.

The effect of dietary fiber from wheat processing streams on the formation of carboxylic acids and microbiota in the hindgut of rats.

Colonic fermentation of dietary fiber produces carboxylic acids and may stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria. This study investigated how byproducts of wheat processing (distillers' grains and two fractions from the wet fractionation to starch and gluten, one of which was treated with xylanase) affect the composition of the cecal microbiota and the formation of carboxylic acids in rats. Differences were mostly found between diets based on supernatants and pellets, rather than between fiber sources.

Malt in combination with Lactobacillus rhamnosus increases concentrations of butyric acid in the distal colon and serum in rats compared with other barley products but decreases viable counts of cecal bifidobacteria.

Several substances, including glutamine and propionic acid but in particular butyric acid, have been proposed to be important for colonic health. β-Glucans lead to the formation of comparatively high amounts of butyric acid, and germinated barley foodstuff obtained from brewer's spent grain (BSG), containing high amounts of β-glucans and glutamine, has been reported to reduce the inflammatory response in the colon of patients with ulcerative colitis. The present study examines how 3 barley products, whole grain barley, malt, and BSG, affect SCFA in the hindgut and serum of rats and whether the addition of Lactobacillus rhamnosus 271 to each of these diets would have further effects.

Antenatal corticosteroids for preterm birth: dose-dependent reduction in birthweight, length and head circumference.

Aim: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of repeated courses of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) on foetal growth.

Methods: We studied 94 infants exposed to 2-9 courses of ACS. Mean gestational age (GA) at first exposure was 29 and at birth 34 weeks.

Self-assembly of alkali-uranyl-peroxide clusters.

The hexavalent uranium specie, uranyl triperoxide, UO(2)(O(2))(3)(4-), has been shown recently to behave like high oxidation-state d(0) transition-metals, self-assembling into polyoxometalate-like clusters that contain up to 60 uranyl cations bridged by peroxide ligands. There has been much less focus on synthesis and structural characterization of salts of the monomeric UO(2)(O(2))(3)(4-) building block of these clusters. However, these could serve as water-soluble uranyl precursors for both clusters and materials, and also be used as simple models to study aqueous behavior by experiment and modeling.