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SUMMARY: Soybean oil is the second most produced edible vegetable oil and is used for many edible and industrial materials. Unfortunately, it has the disadvantage of 'reversion flavor' under photooxidative conditions, which produces an off‐odor and decreases the quality of edible oil. Reversion flavor and off‐odor are caused by minor fatty acids in the triacylglycerol of soybean oil known as furan fatty acids, which produce 3‐methyl‐2,4‐nonanedione (3‐MND) upon photooxidation. As a solution to this problem, a reduction in furan fatty acids leads to a decrease in 3‐MND, resulting in a reduction in the off‐odor induced by light exposure. However, there are no reports on the genes related to the biosynthesis of furan fatty acids in soybean oil. In this study, four mutant lines showing low or no furan fatty acid levels in soybean seeds were isolated from a soybean mutant library. Positional cloning experiments and homology search analysis identified two genes responsible for furan fatty acid biosynthesis in soybean: Glyma.20G201400 and Glyma.04G054100. Ectopic expression of both genes produced furan fatty acids in transgenic soybean hairy roots. The structure of these genes is different from that of the furan fatty acid biosynthetic genes in photosynthetic bacteria. Homologs of these two group of genes are widely conserved in the plant kingdom. The purified oil from the furan fatty acid mutant lines had lower amounts of 3‐MND and reduced off‐odor after light exposure, compared with oil from the wild‐type. Significance Statement: We identified genes responsible for the synthesis of furan fatty acids in soybean seeds. Seed oil extracted from mutant lines with low furan fatty acids has no off‐odor problems under photooxidation conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pizza dough baked at mild thermal conditions (pre-baked pizza crust) can be shipped and stored under refrigerated conditions, and enables a quick serving of pizza. Pre-baked pizza crust, however, easily collapses due to loading weight during shipping and storage. In addition, the texture of re-baked pizza crust becomes essentially harder due to the further reduction of water. The purpose of this study was to improve the physical strength of pre-baked pizza crust and the texture of re-baked pizza crust. The water content decreased and initial elasticity increased with increase in pre-baking time. Samples pre-baked for 15 and 20 min tended to have a lower deformation ratio than that pre-baked for 5 min. The rounded, thicker rim of the pizza crust became flattened, but the internal porous structure was maintained in samples that were pre-baked for 15 min. To control the texture of the re-baked pizza crust, rehydration was performed before the re-baking. The water content of the rehydrated pizza crust was almost equivalent to that of conventional (not pre-baked) pizza crust dough, and the rheological and sensory softness of the rebaked pizza crust were significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Measuring urinary cotinine is a popular and established method of biologically monitoring exposure to tobacco smoke. However, the lower detection limit of cotinine often impedes the evaluation of passive (second-hand) smoking and this, together with unconverted nicotine, does not reflect actual levels of exposure. Furthermore, a portion of the Japanese population might have decreased ability to metabolize nicotine. The present study was therefore carried out to validate the simultaneous analysis of total concentrations of free nicotine and cotinine and their glucuronides to determine actual levels of voluntary and involuntary exposure to cigarette smoke. Methods: Urine samples from 118 Japanese smokers and 117 non-smokers were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Voluntary and involuntary smoking status was self-reported and workplace smoking restrictions were objectively evaluated. Results: The integrated sum of all concentrations showed 2.2- and 2.4-fold higher total levels (free and glucuronide) of nicotine and cotinine relative to the free levels. Median (quartiles) of total nicotine and cotinine were 1635 (2222) and 3948 (3512) ng/mL in smokers, and 3.5 (5.3) and 2.8 (4.2) ng/mL in non-smokers. Concentrations of urinary nicotine were higher than those of cotinine in 21 % of smokers and in 54 % of non-smokers. Nicotine and cotinine levels were significantly associated with a smoking habit, as well as being significantly associated with the workplace and home environments of non-smokers. Conclusions: The present method can monitor voluntary and involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. Measuring total urinary nicotine levels might be useful for analyzing exposure to cigarette smoke among non-smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 47-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic-related changes relapsed after an allogenic bone marrow transplant and received a cord blood transplant as salvage therapy. The patient developed febrile neutropenia that was resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics and multiple, painful, nodular skin lesions on his trunk and extremities before engraftment. A skin biopsy and blood culture found mold, and the subsequent microscopic examination, mass spectrometry, and DNA sequencing of the fungal colonies identified Fusarium solani. The patient's fever and skin lesions began to improve with the administration of liposomal amphotericin B at 5 mg/kg/day. Neutrophilic engraftment occurred on day 19. Stage 3 acute skin graft-versus-host disease was cured by the application of topical steroid. Unexpectedly, a change from liposomal amphotericin B to voriconazole on day 38 exacerbated the Fusarium infection. The Fusarium infection was finally cured by the administration of liposomal amphotericin B for a total of 19 weeks. Neutrophilic engraftment, an immediate definitive diagnosis, the sufficient and long-term administration of appropriate antifungal medication, and avoidance of the systemic administration of steroids might have contributed to the successful outcome of this patient.

A five-month-old male infant with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis underwent cord blood transplantation using reduced-intensity conditioning. Methylprednisolone (mPSL) pulse administration was performed for marked pulmonary edema during the early phase of transplantation, followed by GVHD treatment with mPSL until day 100. CMV antigenemia was detected on days 27 and 55, but serum became negative with 2- to 3-week ganciclovir (GCV) treatment on both occasions. On day 120, ophthalmological findings included multiple bilateral white spots and a positive PCR study using anterior chamber fluid confirmed the diagnosis of CMV retinitis affecting both eyes, although CMV antigenemia was negative. Re-treatment with GCV had a minimal effect on the ophthalmological findings, while foscarnet administration markedly improved the retinitis and decreased the CMV-DNA level. Considering that a substantial proportion of patients develop CMV retinitis even when CMV antigenemia is not present, routine monitoring involving ophthalmological examinations should be conducted for hematopoietic transplant patients, especially infants, who cannot complain of ocular symptoms.