Commercial gigahertz-class NMR magnets

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a wide-spread analytical technique which is used in a large range of different fields, such as quality control, food analysis, material science and structural biology. In the widest sense, NMR is an analytical technique to determine the structure of molecules. At the time of writing this manuscript, commercial NMR spectrometers with a proton resonance frequency ≥ 900 MHz are only available from Bruker. In 2019, Bruker installed the first 1.1 GHz (25.8 T) NMR spectrometer at the St. Jude Children Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, followed by the installation of the first 1.2 GHz (28.2 T) NMR spectrometer at the University of Florence in Italy in 2020. These were the first commercial NMR spectrometers operating at magnetic fields in excess of what can be achieved with conventional low temperature superconductors, and which depend on high temperature superconductors to generate the required magnetic field. In this paper, the requirements on commercial NMR magnets are discussed and the history of high-field NMR magnets is reviewed. Bruker’s R&D program for 1.1 and 1.2 GHz NMR magnets and spectrometers will be described, and some of the key properties of these first commercial NMR magnets with high-temperature superconductors are reported.

TOXIC EFFECTS OF LARGE DOSE OF QUASSIN IN NORMAL AND DEPRIVED MICROFLORA RAT GROUPS

Eighteen rats were divided into three equal groups. The first group was closed orally with quassin, the second group was dosed with quassin after the gut flora were suppressed by difierent antibiotics, and the third group was served as a control. Food intake, water intake, and change in body weight were measured daily before dosing, during two weeks of dosing, and during one week after stopping dosing. Two eats from each group were killed at the end of each week, and stomach, liver, and kidney were collected for histopathologic examination. The results show a significant decline in daily food intake and daily change in body weight, and a significant increase in daily water intake in both dosed groups during the dosing period. Microscopic lesions were seen in the kidneys of both dosed rats group killed at the end of first and second week

Occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in duck and associated environmental samples in Thrissur district.

Campylobacteriosis caused by Campylobacter spp. is considered as the most common cause of bacterial diarrhoea in humans across the globe. The current research was undertaken to assess the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in duck and the associated environmental samples. Among 220 samples analysed, 7.73 per cent samples revealed the presence of Campylobacter spp. Majority of the samples contained C. coli (4.55 per cent) and C. jejuni was detected in 3.18 per cent of the samples. The present study revealed a high occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in duck rearing facilities in Thrissur district, Kerala. As the demand for duck products is increasing every year, the risk of contamination by Campylobacter spp. has to be viewed seriously. The study revealed the importance of multifaceted one health approach including human medicine, veterinary medicine, epidemiology, environmental hygiene, public health institutes and epidemiological surveillance agencies to control food-borne diseases and up-gradation of biosecurity measures.

Leptin and Beyond: Actors in Cancer

Leptin is a 16-kDa multifunctional, neuroendocrine peptide hormone secreted by adipocytes in proportion to total adipose tissue mass, known to control food intake, energy homeostasis, immune response, and reproductive processes [...]

Effect of Nutrition on Age-Related Metabolic Markers and the Gut Microbiota in Cats

Age-related changes in the gut microbiota and metabolites are associated with the increased risk of detrimental conditions also seen with age. This study evaluated whether a test food with potential anti-aging benefits results in favorable changes in plasma and fecal metabolites and the fecal microbiota in senior cats. Forty healthy domestic cats aged 8.3–13.5 years were fed a washout food for 30 days, then control or test food for 30 days. After another 30-day washout, cats were switched to the other study food for 30 days. Assessment of plasma and fecal metabolites showed lower levels of metabolites associated with detrimental processes (e.g., uremic toxins) and higher levels of metabolites associated with beneficial processes (e.g., tocopherols) after cats consumed the test food compared with the control food. A shift toward proteolysis with the control food is supported by higher levels of amino acid metabolites and lower levels of carbohydrate metabolites. Operational taxonomic units of greater abundance with the test food positively correlated with carbohydrate and nicotinic acid metabolites, and negatively correlated with uremic toxins, amino acid metabolism, secondary bile salts, and branched-chain fatty acids. Taken together, the test food appears to result in greater levels of metabolites and microbiota associated with a healthier state.

Young Children’s Eating in the Absence of Hunger: Links With Child Inhibitory Control, Child BMI, and Maternal Controlling Feeding Practices

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the associations between young children’s eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), inhibitory control, body mass index (BMI) and several maternal controlling feeding practices (food as reward, restriction for health, restriction for weight control). In addition, to more properly assess the relationship between children’s and maternal variables, the link between EAH and restriction was explored separately in two directionalities: “child to parent” or “parent to child.” To do this, mothers of 621 children aged 2.00–6.97years (51% boys, M=4.11years, SD=1.34) filled in a questionnaire with items from validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed, whatever the directionality considered, a positive association between children’s eating in the absence of hunger and their BMI z-scores. Restriction for health and restriction for weight control were differently linked to EAH and to children’s BMI z-scores. Namely, low child inhibitory control, food as reward and restriction for health were identified as risk factors for EAH. Restriction for weight control was not linked to EAH, but was predicted by child BMI z-scores. Interventions aiming to improve children’s abilities to self-regulate food intake could consider training children’s general self-regulation, their self-regulation of intake, and/or promoting adaptive parental feeding practices.

The Compound ATH434 Prevents Alpha-Synuclein Toxicity in a Murine Model of Multiple System Atrophy

Background: An elevation in iron levels, together with an accumulation of α-synuclein within the oligodendrocytes, are features of the rare atypical parkinsonian disorder, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). We have previously tested the novel compound ATH434 (formally called PBT434) in preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease and shown that it is brain-penetrant, reduces iron accumulation and iron mediated redox activity, provides neuroprotection, inhibits alpha synuclein aggregation and lowers the tissue levels of alpha synuclein. The compound was also well-tolerated in a first-in-human oral dosing study in healthy and older volunteers with a favorable, dose-dependent pharmacokinetic profile. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ATH434 in a mouse MSA model. Methods: The PLP-α-syn transgenic mouse overexpresses α-synuclein, demonstrates oligodendroglial pathology, and manifests motor and non-motor aspects of MSA. Animals were provided ATH434 (3, 10, or 30 mg/kg/day spiked into their food) or control food for 4 months starting at 12 months of age and were culled at 16 months. Western blot was used to assess oligomeric and urea soluble α-synuclein levels in brain homogenates, whilst stereology was used to quantitate the number of nigral neurons and glial cell inclusions (GCIs) present in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Results: ATH434 reduced oligomeric and urea soluble α-synuclein aggregation, reduced the number of GCIs, and preserved SNpc neurons. In vitro experiments suggest that ATH434 prevents the formation of toxic oligomeric species of synuclein. Conclusion: ATH434 is a promising small molecule drug candidate that has potential to move forward to trial for treating MSA.

Activation of whole body by high levels of polyamine intake in rats

Polyamines are important to the survival and activation of organs and tissues via a homeostatic cell-metabolic process, and the polyamine content in cytoplasm decreases with aging. Decreases in cellular polyamine have been known to augment mutagenesis and cell death. Thus, supplementary polyamine in food is important to the prevention of aging. Here we show the anti-aging effects of oral intake of polyamine using luciferase-transgenic rats. Healthy rats, 10–12 weeks old, were given foods containing 0.01% and 0.1% (w/w) of polyamine, as compared a control food without polyamine, for 4 weeks. Using a bioimaging system, the photon intensities seen in the whole bodies and livers of rats consuming 0.1% of polyamine in food were stronger than those in rats consuming 0.01% and 0% of polyamine. However, there were no differences between groups in other characteristics, such as liver damage and body weight. In conclusion, we found that polyamine intake can activate cells throughout the whole body, providing an anti-aging effect.

Oxytocin and Food Intake Control: Neural, Behavioral, and Signaling Mechanisms

The neuropeptide oxytocin is produced in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus. In addition to its extensively studied influence on social behavior and reproductive function, central oxytocin signaling potently reduces food intake in both humans and animal models and has potential therapeutic use for obesity treatment. In this review, we highlight rodent model research that illuminates various neural, behavioral, and signaling mechanisms through which oxytocin’s anorexigenic effects occur. The research supports a framework through which oxytocin reduces food intake via amplification of within-meal physiological satiation signals rather than by altering between-meal interoceptive hunger and satiety states. We also emphasize the distributed neural sites of action for oxytocin’s effects on food intake and review evidence supporting the notion that central oxytocin is communicated throughout the brain, at least in part, through humoral-like volume transmission. Finally, we highlight mechanisms through which oxytocin interacts with various energy balance-associated neuropeptide and endocrine systems (e.g., agouti-related peptide, melanin-concentrating hormone, leptin), as well as the behavioral mechanisms through which oxytocin inhibits food intake, including effects on nutrient-specific ingestion, meal size control, food reward-motivated responses, and competing motivations.