Quantification and partial characterization of the residual protein in fully and partially refined commercial soybean oils.

A method has been developed to determine residual protein in refined oils, a potential trigger of allergic reactions. High-pH bicarbonate or borate buffers were found to be the most effective extractants, residual oil protein comprising a mixture of proteins of M(r) 6000-100000. Extracted protein could be quantified with superior precision using 3-(4-carboxybenzoyl)quinolone-2-carboxaldehyde (CBQCA).

Identification of the Eph receptor pathway as a novel target for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) modification of gene expression in human colon adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29).

Background: The health benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly those of the n-3 series are well documented. The mechanisms by which these effects are mediated are not fully clarified.

Methods: We used microarrays to assess the effects on gene expression in HT29 colon adenocarcinoma cells of exposure to the n-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

The effects of increasing obesity on outcomes of vascular surgery.

The aim of this study was to determine whether vascular patients are becoming progressively more obese and whether morbid obesity affects outcomes from vascular surgery. Data for the index vascular procedures of infrainguinal bypass, carotid endarterectomy, and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair were collected in a computer database for 1996-2006. Body mass index (BMI) was stratified into <18.

Serum prohepcidin concentration: no association with iron absorption in healthy men; and no relationship with iron status in men carrying HFE mutations, hereditary haemochromatosis patients undergoing phlebotomy treatment, or pregnant women.

Hepcidin plays a major role in iron homeostasis, but understanding its role has been hampered by the absence of analytical methods for quantification in blood. A commercial ELISA has been developed for serum prohepcidin, a hepcidin precursor, and there is interest in its potential use in the clinical and research arena. We investigated the association between serum prohepcidin concentration and iron absorption in healthy men, and its relationship with iron status in men carrying HFE mutations, hereditary haemochromatosis patients, and pregnant women.

Iron absorption in male C282Y heterozygotes.

Background: The suggestion that carriers of the HFE C282Y mutation absorb nonheme iron more efficiently than do carriers of the wild type has public health implications for countries where the C282Y mutation is common and foods are fortified with iron.

Objective: We investigated the effect of C282Y heterozygosity on nonheme-iron absorption from a diet high in bioavailable iron and from iron-fortified cereals.

Design: The subjects were recruited from a parallel study investigating the relation between HFE mutations, habitual diet, and iron status.