Deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of biomass: Influence of hydrogen bond donor and temperature on lignin extraction with high ß-O-4 content.

Recovering lignin with high ß-O-4 content is of prime interest for further high yield depolymerization in low molecular weight phenolic compounds. Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with deep eutectic solvents (DES) was studied to extract this type of tailored lignin from softwood and brewer's spent grains. In this work, choline chloride (ChCl) based DES with two different hydrogen bond donors (HBD) (lactic acid (LA) and Glycerol (Gly)), were investigated at mild temperatures (60 and 80 °C). The influence of DES pretreatment on extracted lignin molecular weight and structural characteristics was analysed. The acidity and density of DES were proved to affect lignin extraction yield and its features. The lignin characteristics (type of interunits, accessibility) were shown to impact their ability to be recovered. Acidic-DES ChCl:LA at 80 °C with woody biomass gave promising results with 78% of lignin extracted exclusively composed of G units with 61% of ß-O-4 linkages with narrow molecular weights distribution.

Increased fiber intake predicts the decrease in 2nd phase glucose-induced hyperinsulinemia following a hypocaloric diet in obese subjects.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Higher fiber intake is associated with increased insulin sensitivity (IS) and reduced glucose-induced insulin secretion (GIIS) during isocaloric-diets; however, its role in hypocaloric-diets is unclear. We examined whether increased fiber intake predicts the amelioration in IS and GIIS following a hypocaloric-diet. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a post-hoc analysis of 55 adult subjects (BMI > 27 kg/m2) who completed a 6-month hypocaloric-diet (-500 kcal/day). Dietary intake was assessed using 3-day food records at baseline and post-intervention. We evaluated glucose-induced insulin and C-peptide secretions as AUC of plasma insulin and C-peptide during intravenous-glucose-tolerance tests (IVGTT) and IS via hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. Data analysis employed regression models and 2-way RM ANOVAs. Post-intervention % change in fiber intake was associated positively with ISclamp (r = 0.30) and negatively with % change in total (r = -0.37) and 2nd phase GIISIVGTT (r = -0.44) but not C-peptide secretion. It remained associated with lower 2nd phase GIISIVGTT after adjustment for sex and % changes in BMI and energy-intake, independently of other macronutrients. Subjects who increased fiber intake (to 28.7 ± 9.0 g/day) had a greater decrease in 2nd phase GIISIVGTT, not C-peptide secretion, independently of sex or changes in adiposity or energy-intake compared to subjects who decreased intake (to 20.0 ± 6.8 g/day). CONCLUSION: Higher fiber intake is an independent predictor of reduced 2nd phase glucose-induced hyperinsulinemia after a hypocaloric-diet. It was not associated with plasma C-peptide, suggesting a role in faster insulin clearance rather reduced insulin secretion. Promoting high-fiber intake may increase the effectiveness of hypocaloric-diets in preventing type 2 diabetes. REGISTRATION: ISRCTN14476404, BioMedCentral.com. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered at BioMed Central as ISRCTN14476404, on July 28th, 2017.

Association study between the CX3CR1 gene and asthma.

CX3CR1, a fractalkine receptor, mediates cell-adhesive and migratory functions in inflammation. Based on CX3CR1 expression observed in bronchial tissues of asthmatic subjects, we hypothesized that genetic variation at this locus may affect susceptibility to asthma. We carried out an association study and a haplotypic analysis with selected polymorphisms of the CX3CR1 in a familial asthmatic sample from a founder population. Genetic analyses performed by FBAT software showed five CX3CR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs938203, rs2669849, rs1050592, T280M and V249I) with significant associations between their common alleles and asthma (P<0.004) in a dominant model. A haplotype formed with common alleles of rs1050592, T280M and V249I is also overtransmitted in asthmatic subjects (P=0.005) under a dominant model. The associations of V249I and rs2669849 have been validated in an independent case-control sample. For V249I, odds ratios (OR) are 2.16 (common homozygous) and 2.11 (heterozygous) in dominant model (P=0.031). For rs2669849, OR are 2.75 (common homozygous) and 1.86 (heterozygous) in additive model (P=0.007) and dominant model (P=0.059). These results suggest an asthma protective effect of the minor alleles in healthy control carriers. Further functional studies of CX3CR1 are needed to document its role in the pathophysiology of asthma.

Comparison of absolute CD4+ lymphocyte counts determined by enzyme immunoassay (TRAx CD4 test kit) and flow cytometry.

Currently, CD4+ lymphocyte counts are one of the most widely used surrogate markers for monitoring disease progression in and initiating therapy for human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals. However, the process of obtaining lymphocyte subset counts can be complex and expensive, often rendering the test inaccessible to many patients. In contrast to standard laser-based flow cytometry, the TRAx CD4 Test Kit utilizes an enzyme-linked immunoassay format to provide CD4+ lymphocyte counts by a simple and more cost-effective means. In order to evaluate the utility of the TRAx CD4+ assay in comparison with flow cytometry, heparinized blood samples were drawn from 188 infected and uninfected adult patients and 24 infected pediatric patients and evaluated by both assays. The correlation coefficient for all adult individuals tested was 0.94, and the mean absolute counts (in cells per milliliter, +/- standard deviation) were 510 +/- 358 for TRAx and 480 +/- 361 for flow cytometry. The correlation for the pediatric group was 0.93, with mean absolute counts of 956 +/- 767 for TRAx and 1,521 +/-a 1,438 for flow cytometry. Overall the TRAx CD4 Test Kit performed well in comparison to flow cytometry, and its lower cost and ease of use make it an encouraging alternative for the routine determination of CD4+ lymphocyte counts.

A manual bead assay for the determination of absolute CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte counts in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals.

CD4+ T lymphocytes are currently the most common surrogate marker indicating disease progression in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since the cost of enumerating lymphocyte phenotypes is quite high, an inexpensive bead assay analyzed by light microscopy (cytosphere assay; Coulter Corporation, Hialeah, Fla.) was developed as an alternative method for counting CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. To evaluate the reliability of the cytosphere assay, heparinized blood was collected from 117 HIV-infected individuals and tested for both CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes by flow cytometry and the cytosphere assay. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the cytosphere assay compared with that of flow cytometry for CD4+ T lymphocytes was 0.93, with mean values +/- standard deviations of 534 +/- 509 by flow cytometry and 499 +/- 477 by the cytosphere assay. The correlation coefficient for CD8+ T lymphocytes was 0.86, with mean values of 831 +/- 543 by flow cytometry and 746 +/- 472 by the cytosphere assay. The sensitivity and specificity of the cytosphere assay in determining absolute CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts of less than 200/microliters were 97.6 and 94.7%, respectively. The positive predictive value was 90.9%, and the negative predictive value was 98.6%. The cytosphere assay was highly correlative to flow cytometry in determining CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts among HIV-infected patients. The ease and limited resources needed to perform this test make it ideal in developing countries and other areas where technology and finances are limited.

Evolution of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic among patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics: a decade of experience.

Since human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is predominantly sexually transmitted, serologic surveys for HIV infection in sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics provide sentinel observations regarding HIV epidemiology. Over the past decade, 17,207 systematically collected sera from patients attending Baltimore STD clinics were analyzed. From 1979 through 1989, HIV seroprevalence rose from 0.23% to 5.35%, increasing significantly in both men and women (P less than .001). Due to a marked increase in HIV infection among women during the mid-1980s, the male-to-female ratio of HIV infection declined from 16:1 in 1979-1982 to 1.0 in 1988-1989. HIV seroprevalence increased significantly (P less than .001) in all age groups, with the greatest increase among teenagers, rising from 0.18% in 1979-1983 to 2.1% in 1987-1989 (P less than .001). Although HIV seroprevalence was higher among whites than blacks during the early 1980s, it increased in blacks subsequently (P less than .001), eventually resulting in a greater rate among black than white clinic patients (P less than .01). These data reflect the evolution of the HIV epidemic in US inner cities. HIV prevalence has increased greater than 20-fold, with recent increases being most marked among women, teenagers, and blacks. Additional resources will undoubtedly be required to support further intensive behavioral and educational programs targeted at adolescents and inner-city minorities.