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Advanced glycation end-products comprise a complex and heterogeneous group of compounds that have been implicated in diabetes-related complications. The importance of the Maillard reaction is depicted by the formation of reactive intermediate products known as α-oxoaldehydes, such as 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG). This product has been found to be involved in accelerated vascular damage in diabetes. In the present study, calf thymus histone H2A was reacted with 3-DG, and the generation of advanced glycation end products was investigated by determining the degree of side chain modifications (lysine and arginine residues), Amadori products, carbonyl content, Nε-carboxymethyl lysine, and pentosidine using various physicochemical techniques. Moreover, fluorescence, absorbance as well as structural characteristics of glycated-H2A were comprehensively investigated. Overall, this study demonstrates structural perturbation, formation of different intermediates, and AGEs that are believed to hamper the normal functioning of H2A histone, compromising the integrity of chromatin structures and function in secondary complications of diabetes. © 2014 IUBMB Life, 66(10):686-693, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results from a series of crop sequence and single-year experiments that tested different straw and cultivation treatments in a total of 11 site–season combinations confirmed previous evidence that the development of eyespot disease in cereals can be decreased by debris in the seed bed even if that debris includes eyespot-infected stem bases, which are the principal sources of primary inoculum. Two of the experiments, which followed non-cereal break crops and tested the effects of crop debris applied after ploughing or tining on eyespot in winter wheat that was artificially inoculated with Oculimacula spp., provided convincing evidence that the effects can be attributed to the debris per se, and not to any associated husbandry practices. There were often larger effects on disease in summer than in spring or on severity than on incidence suggesting that the effects of debris cannot be explained solely by effects on inoculum or initial infection, and that debris has a disease-suppressive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BSTRACT: Protein isolate (PI) was prepared from 3 cowpea varieties and 2 soybean varieties in each of 2 y. The protein contents of cowpea PI (CPI) (91.4% to 91.8%) and soy PI (SPI) (93.0% to 93.5%) were significantly different ( P < 0.05). Electrophoretogram showed that CPI was concentrated at 60 and 40 kDa, whereas SPI showed bands at 95, 65, 60, 40, and 35 kDa. The CPI had higher lysine (49.3 to 51.8 mg/g) than SPI (41.9 to 43.4 mg/g). The CPI and SPI had surface hydrophobicities ranging from 387.8 to 572.9 and 640.6 to 643.1, respectively. Denaturation temperature (85.2 to 88.4 °C) and enthalpy (8.42 to 10.33 J/g) of CPI were similar to the 7S fraction of SPI (82.6 °C and 96.0 to 96.3 J/g). These characteristics of CPI might be useful to explain its functionalities for application in food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three separate experiments showed that wheat tissue infected with the cereal eyespot fungus, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, produced fewer spores in the presence of chopped wheat straw than when it was absent. This provides a possible explanation for earlier observations that there was often less eyespot in plots where straw had been incorporated than where it had been burnt. Sporulation on eyespot infected wheat tissue was not closely correlated with the viability of P. herpotrichoides, which could usually be isolated from infected tissue for some time after it had apparently lost the ability to produce spores. Many of the colonies that were isolated from such tissue also failed to sporulate under the conditions used but non sporulating colonies were less common amongst those isolated from tissue that had been mixed with chopped straw than from tissue that had not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BSTRACT: Functional properties of protein isolates prepared from 3 cowpea varieties and 2 soybean varieties in each of 2 y were determined. Both cowpea protein isolate (CPI) and soy protein isolate (SPI) showed a u-shaped curve for solubility with the minimum solubility occurring at pH 4.5. The CPI had lower emulsifying activity than SPI but was similar in stability. Foaming capacity and foaming stability ranged from 58.6 to 60.2 mL and 63.7 to 64.4 min for CPI and from 31.9 to 33.0 mL and 43.4 to 45.0 min for SPI, respectively. Gels were formed at 70 °C for 40 min and 30 min for CPI (12%) and SPI (10%), respectively. The CPI needs modification to enhance functional properties for potential application in food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the association between maternal lipaemia and neonatal anthropometrics in Malaysian mother-offspring pairs., Design: Prospective observational cohort study., Setting: Single tertiary multidisciplinary antenatal clinic in Malaysia., Population: A total of 507 mothers: 145 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); 94 who were obese with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (pre-gravid body mass index, BMI ≥ 27.5 kg/m 2 ), and 268 who were not obese with NGT., Methods: Maternal demographic, anthropometric, and clinical data were collected during an interview/examination using a structured questionnaire. Blood was drawn for insulin, C-peptide, triglyceride (Tg), and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) during the 75-g 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) screening, and again at 36 weeks of gestation. At birth, neonatal anthropometrics were assessed and data such as gestational weight gain (GWG) were extracted from the records., Main Outcome Measures: Macrosomia, large-for-gestational-age (LGA) status, cohort-specific birthweight (BW), neonatal fat mass (NFM), and sum of skinfold thickness (SSFT) > 90th centile., Results: Fasting Tg > 95th centile (3.6 mmol/L) at screening for OGTT was independently associated with LGA (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 10.82, 95% CI 1.26-93.37) after adjustment for maternal glucose, pre-gravid BMI, and insulin sensitivity. Fasting glucose was independently associated with a birthweight ratio (BWR) of >90th centile (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.17-3.64), but not with LGA status, in this well-treated GDM cohort with pre-delivery HbA1c of 5.27%. In all, 45% of mothers had a pre-gravid BMI of <23 kg/m 2 and 61% had a pre-gravid BMI of ≤ 25 kg/m 2 , yet a GWG of >10 kg was associated with a 4.25-fold risk (95% CI 1.71-10.53) of BWR > 90th centile., Conclusion: Maternal lipaemia and GWG at a low threshold (>10 kg) adversely impact neonatal adiposity in Asian offspring, independent of glucose, insulin resistance and pre-gravid BMI. These may therefore be important modifiable metabolic targets in pregnancy., Tweetable Abstract: Maternal lipids are associated with adiposity in Asian babies independently of pre-gravid BMI, GDM status, and insulin resistance., (© 2019 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.)