Sexual Exposures Associated With Mpox Infection: California, November 2022 to June 2023.

BACKGROUND: Exposures associated with mpox infection remain imperfectly understood. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study enrolling participants who received molecular tests for mpox/orthopoxvirus in California from November 2022 through June 2023. We collected data on behaviors during a 21-day risk period before symptom onset or testing among mpox case patients and test-negative controls. RESULTS: Thirteen of 54 case patients (24.1%) and 5 of 117 controls (4.3%) reported sexual exposure to individuals they identified as potential mpox case patients ("index contacts"; odds ratio [OR], 7.7 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.5-19.3] relative to individuals who did not report exposure to potential mpox case patients). Among these participants, 10 of 13 case patients (76.9%) and 2 of 5 controls (40.0%) reported that their index contacts were not experiencing symptoms visible to participants during sex (OR, 14.9 [95% CI, 3.6-101.8]). Only 3 of 54 case patients (5.6%) reported exposure to symptomatic index contacts. Case patients reported more anal/vaginal sex partners than did controls (adjusted OR, 2.2 [95% CI, 1.0-4.8] for 2-3 partners and 3.8 [1.7-8.8] for ≥4 partners). Male case patients with penile lesions more commonly reported insertive anal/vaginal sex than those without penile lesions (adjusted OR, 9.3 [95% CI, 1.6-54.8]). Case patients with anorectal lesions more commonly reported receptive anal sex than those without anorectal lesions (adjusted OR, 14.4 [95% CI, 1.0-207.3]). CONCLUSIONS: Sexual exposure to contacts known or suspected to have experienced mpox was associated with increased risk of infection, often when index contacts lacked apparent symptoms. Exposure to more sex partners, including those whom participants did not identify as index contacts, was associated with increased risk of infection in a site-specific manner. While participants' assessment of symptoms in partners may be imperfect, these findings suggest that individuals without visibly prominent mpox symptoms transmit infection.

Field assessment of coconut-based activated carbon systems for the treatment of herbicide contamination.

Once released into the environment, herbicides can move through soil or surface water to streams and groundwater. Filters containing adsorbent media placed in fields may be an effective solution to herbicide loss in the environment. However, to date, no study has investigated the use of adsorbent materials in intervention systems at field-scale, nor has any study investigated their optimal configuration. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to examine the efficacy of low-cost, coconut-based activated carbon (CAC) intervention systems, placed in streams and tributaries, for herbicide removal. Two configurations of interventions were investigated in two agricultural catchments and one urban area in Ireland: (1) filter bags and (2) filter bags fitted into polyethylene pipes. Herbicide sampling was conducted using Chemcatcher® passive sampling devices in order to identify trends in herbicide exceedances at the sites, and to quantifiably assess, compare, and contrast the efficiency of the two intervention configurations. While the Chemcatcher® passive sampling devices are capable of analysing eighteen different acid herbicides, only six different acid herbicides (2,4-D, clopyralid, fluroxypyr, MCPA, mecoprop and triclopyr) were ever detected within the three catchment areas, which were also the only acid herbicides used therein. The CAC was capable of complete herbicide removal, when the water flow was slow (0.5-1 m3 s-1), and the interventions spanned the width and depth of the waterway. Overall, the reduction in herbicide concentrations was better for the filter pipes than for the filter bags, with a 48% reduction in detections and a 37% reduction in exceedances across all the sampling sites for the filter pipe interventions compared to a 13% reduction in the number of detections and a 24% reduction in exceedances across all sampling sites for the filter bag interventions (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates, for the first time, that CAC may be an effective in situ remediation strategy to manage herbicide exceedances close to the source, thereby reducing the impact on environmental and public health.

Consumption of Common Bean Suppresses the Obesogenic Increase in Adipose Depot Mass: Impact of Dose and Biological Sex.

Obesity prevention is stated as a simple objective in the public health guidelines of most countries: avoid adult weight gain. However, the success of the global population in accomplishing this goal is limited as reflected in the persisting pandemic of overweight and obesity. While many intervention strategies have been proposed, most are directed at mitigating the consequences of obesity. Efforts intended to prevent unintentional weight gain and associated adiposity are termed anti-obesogenic. Herein, evidence is presented that a neglected category of foods, pulses, i.e., grain legumes, have anti-obesogenic activity. Using a preclinical mouse model of obesity, a dose-response study design in animals of both biological sexes, and cooked, freeze-dried, and milled common bean as a representative pulse, data are presented showing that the rate of body weight gain is slowed, and fat accumulation is suppressed when 70% of the dietary protein is provided from common bean. These anti-obesogenic effects are reduced at lower amounts of common bean (17.5% or 35%). The anti-obesogenic responsiveness is greater in female than in male mice. RNA sequence analysis indicates that the sex-related differences extend to gene expression patterns, particularly those related to immune regulation within adipose tissue. In addition, our findings indicate the potential value of a precision nutrition approach for human intervention studies that identify "pulse anti-obesogenic responders". A precision approach may reduce the concentration of pulses required in the diet for benefits, but candidate biomarkers of responsivity to pulse consumption remain to be determined.

Dietary Oncopharmacognosy as a Crosswalk between Precision Oncology and Precision Nutrition.

While diet and nutrition are modifiable risk factors for many chronic and infectious diseases, their role in cancer prevention and control remains under investigation. The lack of clarity of some diet-cancer relationships reflects the ongoing debate about the relative contribution of genetic factors, environmental exposures, and replicative errors in stem cell division as determinate drivers of cancer risk. In addition, dietary guidance has often been based upon research assuming that the effects of diet and nutrition on carcinogenesis would be uniform across populations and for various tumor types arising in a specific organ, i.e., that one size fits all. Herein, we present a paradigm for investigating precision dietary patterns that leverages the approaches that led to successful small-molecule inhibitors in cancer treatment, namely understanding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of small molecules for targeting carcinogenic mechanisms. We challenge the scientific community to refine the paradigm presented and to conduct proof-in-concept experiments that integrate existing knowledge (drug development, natural products, and the food metabolome) with developments in artificial intelligence to design and then test dietary patterns predicted to elicit drug-like effects on target tissues for cancer prevention and control. We refer to this precision approach as dietary oncopharmacognosy and envision it as the crosswalk between the currently defined fields of precision oncology and precision nutrition with the goal of reducing cancer deaths.

Thwarting Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) with Common Bean: Dose- and Sex-Dependent Protection against Hepatic Steatosis.

Hepatic steatosis signifies onset of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) caused by disrupted metabolic homeostasis compromising liver function. Regular consumption of common beans reduces the risk of metabolic impairment, but its effective dose, the impact of biological sex, and underlying mechanisms of action are unknown. We fed female and male C57BL6/J mice with obesogenic yet isocaloric diets containing 0%, 17.5%, 35%, and 70% of total dietary protein derived from cooked whole common beans. Liver tissue was collected for histopathology, lipid quantification, and RNA-seq analyses. Beans qualitatively and quantitatively diminished hepatic fat deposition at the 35% dose in female and 70% dose in male mice. Bean-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) most significantly mapped to hepatic steatosis and revealed dose-responsive inhibition of de novo lipogenesis markers (Acly, Acaca, Fasn, Elovl6, Scd1, etc.) and triacylglycerol biosynthesis, activation of triacylglycerol degradation, and downregulation of sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) signaling. Upregulated fatty acid ß-oxidation was more prominent in females, while suppression of Cd36-mediated fatty acid uptake-in males. Sex-dependent bean effects also involved DEGs patterns downstream of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and MLX-interacting protein-like (MLXIPL). Therefore, biological sex determines amount of common bean in the diet required to prevent hepatic lipid accumulation.

Association of mycophenolate and azathioprine use with cognitive function in systemic lupus.

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common manifestation of SLE that can have detrimental consequences for those affected. To date, no treatments have been approved for SLE-CD. This study aims to assess the association of azathioprine (AZA) and mycophenolate (MMF) use with SLE-CD, given that these medications have demonstrated neuroprotective qualities in prior studies. METHODS: Consecutive adult SLE patients presenting to a single healthcare center were considered for participation. The ACR neuropsychological battery for SLE was administered to consenting patients at 0, 6 and 12 months. Scores were compared with age- and sex-matched controls. Primary outcome was CD, defined as a z-score ≤-1.5 in two or more cognitive domains. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the odds of CD with respect to AZA and MMF use. RESULTS: A total of 300 participants representing 676 patient visits completed the study; 114 (38%) met criteria for CD at baseline. The cumulative AZA dose (g/kg) was associated with reduced odds of CD [odds ratio (OR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.58, 0.98), P = 0.04]. Years of AZA treatment was also associated with reduced odds of CD [OR 0.72 (95% CI 0.54, 0.97), P = 0.03]. MMF use was not associated with CD. CONCLUSION: AZA use was associated with significantly lower odds of SLE-CD, while MMF use was not. Additional studies are warranted to further investigate the relationship of AZA and SLE-CD.

An assessment of potential pesticide transmission, considering the combined impact of soil texture and pesticide properties: A meta-analysis.

Pesticides are widely employed as a cost-effective means of reducing the impacts of undesirable plants and animals. The aim of this paper is to develop a risk ranking of transmission of key pesticides through soil to waterways, taking into account physico-chemical properties of the pesticides (soil half-life and water solubility), soil permeability, and the relationship between adsorption of pesticides and soil texture. This may be used as a screening tool for land managers, as it allows assessment of the potential transmission risks associated with the use of specified pesticides across a spectrum of soil textures. The twenty-eight pesticides examined were differentiated into three groups: herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. The highest risk of pesticide transmission through soils to waterways is associated with soils containing <20% clay or >45% sand. In a small number of cases, the resulting transmission risk is not influenced by soil texture alone. For example, for Phenmedipham, the transmission risk is higher for clay soils than for silt loam. The data generated in this paper may also be used in the identification of critical area sources, which have a high likelihood of pesticide transmission to waterways. Furthermore, they have the potential to be applied to GIS mapping, where the potential transmission risk values of the pesticides can be layered directly onto various soil textures.

Relandscaping the Gut Microbiota with a Whole Food: Dose-Response Effects to Common Bean.

Underconsumption of dietary fiber and the milieu of chemicals with which it is associated is a health concern linked to the increasing global burden of chronic diseases. The benefits of fiber are partially attributed to modulation of the gut microbiota, whose composition and function depend on the amount and quality of microbiota-accessible substrates in the diet. However, not all types of fiber are equally accessible to the gut microbiota. Phaseolus vulgaris L., or common bean, is a food type rich in fiber as well as other prebiotics posing a great potential to positively impact diet-microbiota-host interactions. To elucidate the magnitude of bean's effects on the gut microbiota, increasing doses of common bean were administered in macronutrient-matched diet formulations. The microbial communities in the ceca of female and male mice were evaluated via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. As the bean dose increased, the Bacillota:Bacteroidota ratio (formerly referred to as the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio) was reduced and α-diversity decreased, whereas the community composition was distinctly different between the diet groups according to ß-diversity. These effects were more pronounced in female mice compared to male mice. Compositional analyses identified a dose-responsive bean-induced shift in microbial composition. With an increasing bean dose, Rikenellaceae, Bacteroides, and RF39, which are associated with health benefits, were enhanced. More taxa, however, were suppressed, among which were Allobaculum, Oscillospira, Dorea, and Ruminococcus, which are predominantly associated with chronic disease risk. Investigation of the origins of the dose dependent and biological sex differences in response to common bean consumption may provide insights into bean-gut microbiota-host interactions important to developing food-based precision approaches to chronic disease prevention and control.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Investigation of Selenium Supplementation in Women at Elevated Risk for Breast Cancer: Lessons for Re-Emergent Interest in Selenium and Cancer.

Damage to cellular macromolecules such as DNA and lipid, induced via reactive oxygen species, and indicators of cell proliferation potential such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF) metabolic status are intermediate biomarkers of breast cancer risk. Based on reports that selenium status can affect these markers, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind experiment was conducted to investigate the potential of selenium supplementation to modulate breast cancer risk. Using a placebo tablet or a tablet containing 200 µg selenium provided as high-selenium yeast daily for one year, concentrations of the biomarkers in blood or urine were assessed at baseline and after 6 and 12 months of intervention. The selenium intervention used in this study is presumed to mediate its effect via the induction of glutathione peroxidase activity and the consequential impact of the active form of this protein on oxidative damage. We found no evidence to support this hypothesis or to indicate that systemic IGF metabolic status was affected. Critical knowledge gaps must be addressed for the resurgence of interest in selenium and cancer to garner clinical relevance. Those knowledge gaps include the identification of a specific, high-affinity selenium metabolite and the cellular target(s) to which it binds, and the demonstration that the cellular determinant that the selenium metabolite binds plays a critical role in the initiation, promotion, or progression of a specific type of cancer.

Compositional Changes of the High-Fat Diet-Induced Gut Microbiota upon Consumption of Common Pulses.

The gut microbiome is involved in the host's metabolism, development, and immunity, which translates to measurable impacts on disease risk and overall health. Emerging evidence supports pulses, i.e., grain legumes, as underutilized nutrient-dense, culinarily versatile, and sustainable staple foods that promote health benefits through modulating the gut microbiota. Herein, the effects of pulse consumption on microbial composition in the cecal content of mice were assessed. Male mice were fed an obesogenic diet formulation with or without 35% of the protein component comprised by each of four commonly consumed pulses-lentil (Lens culinaris L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), or dry pea (Pisum sativum L.). Mice consuming pulses had distinct microbial communities from animals on the pulse-free diet, as evidenced by ß-diversity ordinations. At the phylum level, animals consuming pulses showed an increase in Bacteroidetes and decreases in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Furthermore, α-diversity was significantly higher in pulse-fed animals. An ecosystem of the common bacteria that were enhanced, suppressed, or unaffected by most of the pulses was identified. These compositional changes are accompanied by shifts in predicted metagenome functions and are concurrent with previously reported anti-obesogenic physiologic outcomes, suggestive of microbiota-associated benefits of pulse consumption.

Pre-Clinical Insights into the Iron and Breast Cancer Hypothesis.

Population studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses have revealed no relationship between iron status and breast cancer, a weak positive association, or a small protective effect of low iron status. However, in those studies, the authors concluded that further investigation was merited. The set of experiments reported here used preclinical models to assess the likely value of further investigation. The effects of iron status on the initiation and promotion stage of mammary carcinogenesis are reported. Using the classical model of cancer initiation in the mammary gland, 7,12 dimethyl-benz[α]anthracene-induced carcinogenesis was unaffected by iron status. Similarly, excess iron intake showed no effect on the promotion stage of 1-methyl-1-nitrosurea-induced mammary carcinogenesis, though iron deficiency exerted a specific inhibitory effect on the carcinogenic process. Though iron-mediated cellular oxidation is frequently cited as a potential mechanism for effects on breast cancer, no evidence of increased oxidative damage to DNA attributable to excess iron intake was found. The reported preclinical data fail to provide convincing evidence that the further evaluation of the iron-breast cancer risk hypotheses is warranted and underscore the value of redefining the referent group in population-based studies of iron-cancer hypotheses in other tissues.

Factors associated with patients not proceeding with proposed resective epilepsy surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the association between eligible patients not proceeding with resective epilepsy surgery and various demographic, disease-specific, and epilepsy-evaluation variables. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included patients identified as candidates for resective epilepsy surgery at the Montefiore Medical Center between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2017. Chi-squared, two-tailed, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were utilized to identify variables associated with patients not proceeding with surgery. RESULTS: Among the 159 potential surgical candidates reviewed over the 8.5-year study period, only 53 ultimately proceeded with surgery (33%). Eighty-seven (55%) out of these 159 patients were identified as appropriate for resective epilepsy surgery during the study period. Thirty-four (39%) of these 87 patients did not proceed with surgery. Variables independently correlated (either positively or negatively) with the patient not proceeding with surgery were: being employed [Odds Ratio (OR) 4.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-15.73], temporal lobe lesion on MRI (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.14-0.84), temporal lobe EEG ictal onsets (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.07-0.62), and temporal lobe epileptogenic zone (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.55). CONCLUSION: The novel finding in this study is the association between employment status and whether the patient had epilepsy surgery: employed patients were 4.2 times more likely to not proceed with surgery compared to unemployed patients. In addition, patients with a temporal lobe lesion on MRI, temporal lobe EEG ictal onsets, and/or a temporal epileptogenic zone were more likely to proceed with surgery. Future work will be needed to evaluate these findings prospectively, determine if they generalize to other patient populations, explore the decision whether or not to proceed with epilepsy surgery from a patient-centered perspective, and suggest strategies to reduce barriers to this underutilized treatment.

Measuring Dietary Botanical Diversity as a Proxy for Phytochemical Exposure.

The study of natural plant molecules and their medicinal properties, pharmacognosy, provides a taxonomy for botanical families that represent diverse chemical groupings with potentially distinct functions in relation to human health. Yet, this reservoir of knowledge has not been systematically applied to elucidating the role of patterns of plant food consumption on gut microbial ecology and function. All chemical classes of dietary phytochemicals can affect the composition of the microbes that colonize the gut and their function. In turn, the gut microbiome affects the host via multiple mechanisms including gut barrier function, immune function, satiety and taste regulation and the activity of biological signaling pathways that influence health and disease. Herein, we report the development of a botanical diversity index (BDI) to evaluate plant food consumption as a novel metric for identifying and quantifying phytochemicals to which an individual is exposed. A rationale is advanced for using the BDI to investigate how plant food diversity impacts gut microbial ecology and functionality.

Building a Foundation for Precision Onco-Nutrition: Docosahexaenoic Acid and Breast Cancer.

In vivo evidence of heterogeneous effects of n-3 fatty acids (N3FA) on cell signaling pathways associated with the reduced growth of breast cancer has been reported and is consistent with the expectation that N3FA will not exert uniform effects on all molecular subtypes of the disease. Similarly, available evidence indicates that many metabolites of N3FA are synthesized by mammalian cells and that they exert metabolite-specific biological activities. To begin to unravel the complex relationships among molecular subtypes and effects exerted by specific N3FA metabolites on those pathways, proof-of-concept experiments were conducted using cell lines representative of common molecular subtypes of human breast cancer. N3FA differed in anticancer activity with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) having greater anticancer activity than eicosapentaenoic acid. 4-oxo-docosahexaenoic (4-oxo-DHA), a penultimate metabolite of 5-lipoxygenase mediated DHA metabolism, induced dose-dependent inhibition of cell number accumulation with apoptosis as a primary effector mechanism. Interrogation of protein expression data using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) bioinformatics platform indicated that 4-oxo-DHA differentially impacted six canonical pathways and the cellular functions they regulate across common molecular subtypes of breast cancer. This included the endocannabinoid pathway for cancer inhibition that has not been previously reported. These findings provide a rationale for juxtaposing molecular subtype targeted treatment strategies with the adjuvant use of specific N3FA metabolites as an example of precision onco-nutrition (PON) for the management and control of breast cancer.

Pulse Crop Effects on Gut Microbial Populations, Intestinal Function, and Adiposity in a Mouse Model of Diet-Induced Obesity.

The dietary fiber gap that is present in many countries co-exists with a low intake of grain legumes (pulses) that have 2-3 times more dietary fiber than cereal grains that are commonly recommended to increase fiber intake. Given the relationships among dietary fiber, gut health and chronic disease risk, a study was undertaken in a preclinical mouse model for obesity to examine how commonly consumed pulses, i.e., chickpea, common bean, dry pea and lentil, would impact gut microbes, intestinal function, and adiposity. Pulses were fed to C57BL/6 mice at similar levels of protein and fiber. Bacterial count in the cecum was elevated 3-fold by pulse consumption. At the phylum level, a 2.2- to 5-fold increase in Bacteriodetes relative to Firmicutes was observed. For Akkermansia muciniphila, a health-beneficial bacterium, differential effects were detected among pulses ranging from no effect to a 49-fold increase. Significant differences among pulses in biomarkers of intestinal function were not observed. Pulses reduced accumulation of lipid in adipose tissue with a greater reduction in the subcutaneous versus visceral depots. Metabolomics analysis indicated that 108 metabolites were highly different among pulse types, and several compounds are hypothesized to influence the microbiome. These results support recent recommendations to increase consumption of pulse-based foods for improved health, although all pulses were not equal in their effects.

White Kidney Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) Consumption Reduces Fat Accumulation in a Polygenic Mouse Model of Obesity.

Clinical studies indicate that eating common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., plays a role in body weight regulation but mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the anti-obesogenic activity of white kidney bean in a mouse model of dietary-induced obesity. Bean consumption reduced the accumulation of adipose tissue in male and female C57BL6 mice. The anti-obesogenic effect of white kidney bean was not due to alterations in energy intake, energy excreted in the feces, or feed efficiency ratio. While bean consumption increased the mass of the intestine, no marked differences were consistently observed in crypt height, mucin content of goblet cells, proliferation index or zone of proliferation. However, significantly higher concentrations of total bacteria and of Akkermansia muciniphila were detected in cecal content of bean-fed mice, and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was reduced. Bile acid content was higher in the ileum of bean-fed mice, but transcript levels of farnesoid X receptor were not significantly affected. Whether changes in bile-acid-mediated cell signaling play a role in bean-related differences in fat accumulation and/or overall metabolic health requires further investigation.

Differences in chemical composition predictive of in vitro biological activity among commercially important cultivars of genus Camellia.

Leaves of plants from the genus Camellia (CAM) are used to make tea; however, there are limited data that compares chemical composition and biological activity of CAM cultivars used to make six tea types. Fourteen CAM cultivars were analyzed by HPLC and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and biological activity was assessed in a cell growth assay. Tea bioactives and cell growth inhibition varied 2-4 fold. EGCG was the dominant catechin that predicted the magnitude of growth inhibition. However, pure EGCG did not fully account for inhibitory activity suggesting that it may serve as a chemical marker for bioefficacy. As an unbiased characterization of differences in chemical composition among CAM, individual metabolomes were determined and used to generate principle components (PC). PC's from the metabolome were complementary to those from targeted analyses of tea bioactives and were predictive of growth inhibition. This study provides a frame work for identifying CAM cultivars with beneficial traits.

Cell Signaling Pathways in Mammary Carcinoma Induced in Rats with Low versus High Inherent Aerobic Capacity.

An inverse association exists between physical activity and breast cancer incidence and outcomes. An objective indicator of an individual's recent physical activity exposure is aerobic capacity. We took advantage of the fact that there is an inherited as well as inducible component of aerobic capacity to show that experimentally induced mammary cancer is inversely related to inherent aerobic capacity (IAC). The objective of this study was to determine whether cell signaling pathways involved in the development of mammary cancer differed in rats with low inherent aerobic capacity (LIAC, n = 55) versus high inherent aerobic capacity (HIAC, n = 57). Cancer burden was 0.21 ± 0.16 g/rat in HIAC versus 1.14 ± 0.45 in LIAC, p < 0.001. Based on protein expression, cancer in LIAC animals was associated with upregulated glucose utilization, and protein and fatty acid synthesis. Signaling in cancers from HIAC rats was associated with energy sensing, fatty acid oxidation and cell cycle arrest. These findings support the thesis that pro-glycolytic, metabolic inflexibility in LIAC favors not only insulin resistance and obesity but also tumor development and growth. This provides an unappreciated framework for understanding how obesity and low aerobic fitness, hallmarks of physical inactivity, are associated with higher cancer risk and poorer prognosis.

Differences in Chemical Composition among Commercially Important Cultivars of Genus Camellia.

Leaves from plants of the genus Camellia are used to make beverages and food products; however, there is limited data that compares the chemical composition of the unprocessed leaves of cultivars traditionally used to make these products. Plucked, fresh leaves from 14 commercially important cultivars were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. On the basis of assessment of 61 compounds that are known to be affected by postharvest tea processing methods, significant variation among unprocessed cultivar leaves was observed for compounds in five chemical classes: amino acids, catechins, flavonoids and flavone glycosides, phenolic acids, and alkaloids. These chemical differences were of sufficient magnitude to render two distinct chemically defined clusters of Camellia cultivars that did not reflect the traditional grouping of these cultivars based by species variant, tea type, or production region. Advanced statistical techniques identified candidate biomarkers for each chemical class to guide the development of comprehensive targeted analyses for constituents of biosynthetic pathways in which marked expression plasticity was observed. Targeted analyses of this type have the potential to identify Camellia species/cultivars that will facilitate the formulation of new beverages and designer foods with improved organoleptic characteristic and enhanced prebiotic or nutraceutical activity.

Inherent aerobic capacity-dependent differences in breast carcinogenesis.

Although regular physical activity is associated with improvement in aerobic capacity and lower breast cancer risk, there are heritable sets of traits that affect improvement in aerobic capacity in response to physical activity. Although aerobic capacity segregates risk for a number of chronic diseases, the effect of the heritable component on cancer risk has not been evaluated. Therefore, we investigated breast carcinogenesis in rodent models of heritable fitness in the absence of induced physical activity. Female offspring of N:NIH rats selectively bred for low (LIAC) or high (HIAC) inherent aerobic capacity were injected intraperitoneally with 1-methyl-1-nitrosurea (70 mg/kg body wt). At study termination 33 weeks post-carcinogen, cancer incidence (14.0 versus 47.3%; P < 0.001) and multiplicity (0.18 versus 0.85 cancers per rat; P < 0.0001) were significantly decreased in HIAC versus LIAC rats, respectively. HIAC had smaller visceral and subcutaneous body fat depots than LIAC and activity of two proteins that regulated the mammalian target of rapamycin, protein kinase B (Akt), and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase were suppressed and activated, respectively, in HIAC. Although many factors distinguish between HIAC and LIAC, it appears that the protective effect of HIAC against breast carcinogenesis is mediated, at least in part, via alterations in core metabolic signaling pathways deregulated in the majority of human breast cancers.