Search

It has been suggested that high doses of [beta]-carotene limit its conversion to vitamin A, yet this effect has not been well established in humans. A feeding study was conducted in a randomized crossover design in which volunteers consumed 2 doses of deuterium-labeled [beta]-carotene on 2 occasions, with [beta]-carotene and vitamin A response assessed by plasma area under the concentration time curve (AUC). Seven volunteers (4 men, 3 women) consumed each of 2 doses of [beta]-carotene-d8 and provided serial blood samples for 37 d after each dose. [beta]-Carotene doses were 20 and 40 mg. Plasma [beta]-carotene-d8 was assessed by HPLC-MS. Plasma retinol (ROH)-d4, which was derived from the [beta]-carotene-d8, was evaluated by GC-MS after saponification to convert retinyl esters to ROH prior to the formation of the trimethylsilylether. The plasma AUC for [beta]-carotene-d8 increased 2-fold from the 20-mg dose to the 40-mg dose. The plasma AUC for ROH-d4 increased 36% from the 20-mg dose to the 40-mg dose. These results establish that, in humans, [beta]-carotene conversion to vitamin A decreases as the dietary dose increases. doi: 10.3945/jn.109.116947.

A whole-genome shotgun sequencing method was employed to determine the complete 1,751,377-bp sequence of the thermophilic archaeon Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum DeltaH genome, a lithoautotrophic and thermophilic archaeon. The genes and gene functions were also identified and annotated. Moreover, the sequence of the M thermoautotrophicum DeltaH genome was compared with the M jannaschii genome.

Starting in February 2017, a network of 14 Thies Laser Precipitation Monitors (LPMs) were installed at various locations around the United Kingdom to create the Disdrometer Verification Network (DiVeN). The instruments were installed for verification of radar hydrometeor classification algorithms but are valuable for much wider use in the scientific and operational meteorological community. Every Thies LPM is able to designate each observed hydrometeor into one of 20 diameter bins from ≥ 0.125 mm to > 8 mm, and one of 22 speed bins from > 0.0 m s-1 to > 20.0 m s-1. Using empirically-derived relationships, the instrument classifies precipitation into one of 11 possible hydrometeor classes in the form of a present weather code, with an associated indicator of uncertainty. To provide immediate feedback to data users, the observations are plotted in near real time (NRT) and made publicly available on a website within 7 minutes. Here we describe the Disdrometer Verification Network and subjectively discuss the skill of the Thies LPM for hydrometeor type identification using specific cases from the first year of observations. Cases presented here suggest that the Thies LPM performs well at identifying transitions between rain and snow, but struggles with detection of graupel and pristine ice crystals (which occur infrequently in the United Kingdom) inherently, due to internal processing. The present weather code quality index is shown to have some skill without the supplementary sensors recommended by the manufacturer. Overall the Thies LPM is a useful tool for detecting hydrometeor type at the surface and DiVeN provides a novel dataset not previously observed for the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE. Sleep-disordered breathing describes a spectrum of upper airway obstruction in sleep from simple primary snoring, estimated to affect 10% of preschool children, to the syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea. Emerging evidence has challenged previous assumptions that primary snoring is benign. A recent report identified reduced attention and higher levels of social problems and anxiety/depressive symptoms in snoring children compared with controls. Uncertainty persists regarding clinical thresholds for medical or surgical intervention in sleep-disordered breathing, underlining the need to better understand the pathophysiology of this condition. Adults with sleep-disordered breathing have an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease independent of atherosclerotic risk factors. There has been little focus on cerebrovascular function in children with sleep-disordered breathing, although this would seem an important line of investigation, because studies have identified abnormalities of the systemic vasculature. Raised cerebral blood flow velocities on transcranial Doppler, compatible with raised blood flow and/or vascular narrowing, are associated with neuropsychological deficits in children with sickle cell disease, a condition in which sleep-disordered breathing is common. We hypothesized that there would be cerebral blood flow velocity differences in sleep-disordered breathing children without sickle cell disease that might contribute to the association with neuropsychological deficits. DESIGN. Thirty-one snoring children aged 3 to 7 years were recruited from adenotonsillectomy waiting lists, and 17 control children were identified through a local Sunday school or as siblings of cases. Children with craniofacial abnormalities, neuromuscular disorders, moderate or severe learning disabilities, chronic respiratory/cardiac conditions, or allergic rhinitis were excluded. Severity of sleep-disordered breathing in snoring children was categorized by attended polysomnography. Weight, height, and head circumference were measured in all of the children. BMI and occipitofrontal circumference z scores were computed. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure were obtained. Both sleep-disordered breathing children and the age- and BMI-similar controls were assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), Neuropsychological Test Battery for Children (NEPSY) visual attention and visuomotor integration, and IQ assessment (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Version III). Transcranial Doppler was performed using a TL2-64b 2-MHz pulsed Doppler device between 2 PM and 7 PM in all of the patients and the majority of controls while awake. Time-averaged mean of the maximal cerebral blood flow velocities was measured in the left and right middle cerebral artery and the higher used for analysis. RESULTS. Twenty-one snoring children had an apnea/hypopnea index CONCLUSIONS. Cerebral blood flow velocities measured by noninvasive transcranial Doppler provide evidence for increased cerebral blood flow and/or vascular narrowing in childhood sleep-disordered breathing; the relationship with neuropsychological deficits requires further exploration. A number of physiologic changes might alter cerebral blood flow and/or vessel diameter and, therefore, affect cerebral blood flow velocities. We were able to explore potential confounding influences of obesity and hypertension, neither of which explained our findings. Second, although cerebral blood flow velocities increase with increasing partial pressure of carbon dioxide and hypoxia, it is unlikely that the observed differences could be accounted for by arterial blood gas tensions, because all of the children in the study were healthy, with no cardiorespiratory disease, other than sleep-disordered breathing in the snoring group. Although arterial partial pressure of oxygen and partial pressure of carbon dioxide were not monitored during cerebral blood flow velocity measurement, assessment was undertaken during the afternoon/early evening when the child was awake, and all of the sleep-disordered breathing children had normal resting oxyhemoglobin saturation at the outset of their subsequent sleep studies that day. Finally, there is an inverse linear relationship between cerebral blood flow and hematocrit in adults, and it is known that iron-deficient erythropoiesis is associated with chronic infection, such as recurrent tonsillitis, a clinical feature of many of the snoring children in the study. Preoperative full blood counts were not performed routinely in these children, and, therefore, it was not possible to exclude anemia as a cause of increased cerebral blood flow velocity in the sleep-disordered breathing group. However, hemoglobin levels were obtained in 4 children, 2 of whom had borderline low levels (10.9 and 10.2 g/dL). Although there was no apparent relationship with cerebral blood flow velocity in these children (cerebral blood flow velocity values of 131 and 130 cm/second compared with 130 and 137 cm/second in the 2 children with normal hemoglobin levels), this requires verification. It is of particular interest that our data suggest a relationship among snoring, increased cerebral blood flow velocities and indices of cognition (processing speed and visual attention) and perhaps behavioral (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) function. This finding is preliminary: a causal relationship is not established, and the physiologic mechanisms underlying such a relationship are not clear. Prospective studies that quantify cumulative exposure to the physiologic consequences of sleep-disordered breathing, such as hypoxia, would be informative. KEYWORDS. sleep disordered breathing, cerebral blood flow, transcranial Doppler, executive function, neuropsychological function. URL: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2006-0092

Objective: The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing questionnaire (SSQ) is a self-report test of auditory disability. The 49 items ask how well a listener would do in many complex listening situations illustrative of real life. The scores on the items are often combined into the three main sections or into 10 pragmatic subscales. We report here a factor analysis of the SSQ that we conducted to further investigate its statistical properties and to determine its structure. Design: Statistical factor analysis of questionnaire data, using parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain, oblique rotation of factors, and a bootstrap method to estimate the confidence intervals. Study sample: 1220 people who have attended MRC IHR over the last decade. Results: We found three clear factors, essentially corresponding to the three main sections of the SSQ. They are termed 'speech understanding', 'spatial perception', and 'clarity, separation, and identification'. Thirty-five of the SSQ questions were included in the three factors. There was partial evidence for a fourth factor, 'effort and concentration', representing two more questions. Conclusions: These results aid in the interpretation and application of the SSQ and indicate potential methods for generating average scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absorption of cyanidin-based anthocyanins is not fully understood with respect to dose or anthocyanin structure. In feeding studies using whole foods, nonacylated anthocyanins are more bioavailable than their acylated counterparts, but the extent to which plant matrix determines relative bioavailability of anthocyanins is unknown. Using juice of purple carrots to circumvent matrix effects, a feeding trial was conducted to determine relative bioavailability of acylated and nonacylated anthocyanins and to assess dose-response effects. Appearance of anthocyanins in plasma was measured in 10 healthy adults for 8 h following consumption of purple carrot juice. Each subject consumed 50, 150, and 250 mL of juice containing 76 micromol (65 mg), 228 micromol (194 mg), and 380 micromol (323 mg) of total anthocyanins, respectively. Acylated anthocyanins comprised 76% of total anthocyanins in the juice, yet their bioavailability was found to be significantly less than that of nonacylated anthocyanins. Peak plasma concentrations of nonacylated anthocyanins were 4-fold higher than that for acylated anthocyanins. Absorption efficiency declined across the doses administered. Because the treatments were consumed as juice, it could be discerned that the difference in bioavailability of acylated versus nonacylated anthocyanins was not primarily caused by interactions with the plant matrix.