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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The compounding of personalized parenteral nutrition mixtures (PPNMs) for home parenteral nutrition (HPN) gives the possibility to better satisfy nutritional requirements for patients in selected clinical conditions. The objective of this study was to compare the composition of PPNMs prescribed in selected cases, by a practitioner nutritionist, with that of industrially manufactured standard parenteral nutrition mixtures (SPNMs). SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-eight patients (151 men, 147 women, aged 17-87 years) on HPN, followed up in 2011 at our Center, were retrospectively recruited. RESULTS: Industrially manufactured SPNMs were prescribed in 230 (77.2%) patients, whereas compounded PPNMs were prescribed in 68 (22.8%). Formulation of PPNMs, adjusted for body weight, did not significantly differ from SPNMs as regards total daily calorie amount, but was significantly different as far as nutrient composition is concerned (P CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that, presently, PPNMs cannot be completely replaced by SPNMs owing to special needs in macro and/or micronutrients of some patients and/or the necessity of frequent changes in the nutritional mixture composition, at least until stabilization of clinical and metabolic conditions. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2014) 68, 433-436; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2014.10; published online 12 February 2014 Keywords: home artificial nutrition; home parenteral nutrition; parenteral formulation; parenteral requirements; compounding of parenteral mixtures; standard nutritional mixtures, INTRODUCTION Parenteral nutrition (PN) is indicated in patients who cannot be fed by enteral route, such as those with intestinal failure or obstruction. (1-3) Patients needing PN must be evaluated [...]

The transcriptional regulator MucR from Brucella species controls the expression of many genes, including those involved in virulence, by binding AT-rich DNA regions. MucR and its homologs belong to the Ros/MucR family, whose members occur in α-proteobacteria. MucR is a recent addition to the family of histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) proteins. Indeed, despite the lack of sequence homology, MucR bears many functional similarities with H-NS and H-NS-like proteins, structuring the bacterial genome and acting as global regulators of transcription. Here we present an integrated cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), nuclear magnetic resonance, modeling and biochemical study shedding light on the functional architecture of MucR from Brucella abortus and its homolog Ml5 from Mesorhizobium loti. We show that MucR and Ml5 fold in a circular quaternary assembly, which allows it to bridge and condense DNA by binding AT-rich sequences. Our results show that Ros/MucR family members are a novel type of H-NS-like proteins and, based on previous studies, provide a model connecting nucleoid structure and transcription regulation in α-proteobacteria., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

Proteins of the MucR/Ros family play a crucial role in bacterial infection or symbiosis with eukaryotic hosts. MucR from Sinorhizobium meliloti plays a regulatory role in establishing symbiosis with the host plant, both dependent and independent of Quorum Sensing. Here, we report the first characterization of MucR isolated from Sinorhizobium meliloti by mass spectrometry and demonstrate that this protein forms higher-order oligomers in its native condition of expression by SEC-MALS. We show that MucR purified from Sinorhizobium meliloti can bind DNA and recognize the region upstream of the ndvA gene in EMSA, revealing that this gene is a direct target of MucR. Although MucR DNA binding activity was already described, a detailed characterization of Sinorhizobium meliloti DNA targets has never been reported. We, thus, analyze sequences recognized by MucR in the rem gene promoter, showing that this protein recognizes AT-rich sequences and does not require a consensus sequence to bind DNA. Furthermore, we investigate the dependence of MucR DNA binding on the length of DNA targets. Taken together, our studies establish MucR from Sinorhizobium meliloti as a member of a new family of Histone-like Nucleoid Structuring (H-NS) proteins, thus explaining the multifaceted role of this protein in many species of alpha-proteobacteria.

Background: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) was considered essentially nonexistent in adults until recent evidence obtained using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography. It seems to play a role in whole body metabolism, but it has not been evaluated in underweight conditions, such as in young females with constitutional leanness (CL) or anorexia nervosa (AN)., Subjects and Methods: Thirty-eight subjects were evaluated from October 2011 to March 2012 : 7 CL (21.7 ± 3.6 y, body mass index [BMI] 16.2 ± 1.0 kg/m(2)), 7 AN (23.4 ± 4.5 y, BMI 15.5 ± 0.8), 3 of the 7 AN after stable refeeding (R-AN, 21.3 ± 1.5 y, BMI 18.8 ± 1.1), and 24 normal weight (NW) women (25.6 ± 3.9 y, BMI 22.2 ± 1.5). Fasting resting metabolic rate and respiratory quotient were measured by indirect calorimetry, body composition by bioimpedentiometry (only in CL, AN, and refed AN), and BAT activity by 18-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan, all in standardized conditions., Results: All CL (100%), none of the AN and refed AN (0%), and 3 of the 24 NW (12%) subjects showed FDG uptake. Average FDG maximum standardized uptake value was 11.4 + 6.7 g/mL in CL and 5.5 ± 1.2 g/mL (min 3.7, max 8.3) in the 3 NW subjects. In CL, the maximum standardized uptake value was directly correlated to resting metabolic rate, corrected for fat-free mass, and inversely correlated with respiratory quotient., Conclusion: BAT activity has been shown in CL in resting thermoneutral conditions and may exert a role against adipose tissue deposition.