0000000000550176
AUTHOR
Xuan Liu
Genome-wide association analyses identify 18 new loci associated with serum urate concentrations
Elevated serum urate concentrations can cause gout, a prevalent and painful inflammatory arthritis. By combining data from >140,000 individuals of European ancestry within the Global Urate Genetics Consortium (GUGC), we identified and replicated 28 genome-wide significant loci in association with serum urate concentrations (18 new regions in or near TRIM46, INHBB, SFMBT1, TMEM171, VEGFA, BAZ1B, PRKAG2, STC1, HNF4G, A1CF, ATXN2, UBE2Q2, IGF1R, NFAT5, MAF, HLF, ACVR1B-ACVRL1 and B3GNT4). Associations for many of the loci were of similar magnitude in individuals of non-European ancestry. We further characterized these loci for associations with gout, transcript expression and the fractional…
Biological traits, geographic distributions, and species conservation in aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems (both marine and freshwater) have long served as model systems for exploring the role of environmental stressors on organismal performance and survival, the biogeographic distributions of populations and species, and ultimately the diversity, functioning, and stability of ecosystems (Adams, 2002; Forbes, 1887; MacArthur & Wilson, 2001; Paine, 1969; Somero et al., 2017 ). Climate change, alien species invasions, land use change, urbaniza-tion, and other anthropogenic impacts have all been demonstrated to impair aquatic ecosystems at multiple levels of biological orga-nization within aquatic ecosystems (Karr, 1991; Doney et al., 2012; Harley et al., 2006; Poloczanska et…
Similar contributions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations to early-onset breast cancer in Germany.
This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in 91 German patients unselected for family history, who were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 41 years. Clinical information and blood samples were obtained from all patients. A comprehensive BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutational analysis was performed using the protein truncation assay and single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis followed by DNA sequencing of variant signals detected by these assays. Five different deleterious germline mutations including four frameshift mutations and one missense mutation were identified, three in BRCA1 (3.3%) and two mutations (2.2%) in BRCA2. Both…
Impact of HPP on the bioaccessibility/bioavailability of nutrients and bioactive compounds as a key factor in the development of food processing
Abstract High-pressure processing (HPP) technology has great potential for manipulating the structure and functionality of the components present in food matrices, therefore considerably affecting their bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Without knowledge of the principles and mechanisms responsible for these modifications, this technology’s potential is still not fully understood and justified from a nutritional point of view. This chapter presents the results of some of the main studies carried out to date to assess the impact of HPP on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of nutrients and bioactive compounds of different food matrices.
Inactivation and structural changes of polyphenol oxidase in quince ( Cydonia oblonga Miller) juice subjected to ultrasonic treatment
Background Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is considered a problem in the food industry because it starts browning reactions during fruit and vegetable processing. Ultrasonic treatment is a technology used to inactivate the enzyme; however, the mechanism behind PPO inactivation is still unclear. For this reason, the inactivation, aggregation, and structural changes in PPO from quince juice subjected to ultrasonic treatments were investigated. Different intensities and times of ultrasonic treatment were used. Changes in the activity, aggregation, conformation, and structure of PPO were investigated through different structural analyses. Results Compared to untreated juice, the PPO activity in treat…