Birth weight variants are associated with variable fetal intrauterine growth from 20 weeks of gestation.

Fetal intrauterine growth is influenced by complex interactions between the maternal genes, environment and fetal genes. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of GWAS-identified genetic variants associated with birth weight on intrauterine fetal growth in 665 children. Fetal growth was estimated by two-dimensional ultrasound scans at 20, 25 and 32 weeks of gestation and growth trajectories were modeled using mixed linear regression. A genetic risk score (GRS) of birth weight-raising variants was associated with intrauterine growth showing an attenuating effect on the unconditional daily reduction in proportional weight gain of 8.92 × 10-6 percentage points/allele/day (p = 2.0 × 10-4), corresponding to a mean difference of 410 g at 40 weeks of gestation between a child with lowest and highest GRS. Eight variants were independently associated with intrauterine growth throughout the pregnancy, while four variants were associated with fetal growth in the periods 20-25 or 25-32 weeks of gestation, indicating that some variants may act in specific time windows during pregnancy. Four of the intrauterine growth variants were associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension or BMI in the UK Biobank, which may provide basis for further understanding of the link between intrauterine growth and later risk of metabolic disease.

Effect of hop ß-acids as dietary supplement for broiler chickens on meat composition and redox stability.

Addition of ß-acids extracted from hop at different levels (0, 30mgkg-1, 60mgkg-1, 240mgkg-1) to the diet of broiler chickens demonstrated significant effects on the average concentration of polar metabolites and fatty acids of relevance for meat quality. The largest metabolic differences between control group and chicken fed different levels of ß-acids were achieved using 30mgkg-1 of supplement. As determined by EPR spin-trapping, increased redox stability was also obtained for meat from chicken fed 30mgkg-1 of ß-acids which also had highest level of endogenous antioxidants, especially anserine, carnosine, NADH and PUFAs. Diet and storage period were found to affect protein oxidation and myosin and actin were recognized as the main targets of protein oxidation. Myofibrillar proteins from chicken fed hop ß-acids showed to be less susceptible to oxidation. A moderated level of hop ß-acids as dietary supplement accordingly improve the overall redox stability, protecting myofibrillar proteins and fatty acids against oxidation and improve the nutritional properties of meat from broiler chickens.

Caffeine metabolites not caffeine protect against riboflavin photosensitized oxidative damage related to skin and eye health.

Caffeine metabolites were found to bind riboflavin with dissociation constant in the millimolar region by an exothermic process with positive entropy of reaction, which was found by (1)H NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy to occur predominantly by hydrogen bonding with water being released from riboflavin solvation shell upon caffeine metabolite binding to riboflavin. The caffeine metabolites 1-methyl uric acid and 1,7-dimethyl uric acid were shown by transient absorption laser flash photolysis to be efficient as quenchers of triplet riboflavin with second-order rate constant of 1.4 10(8)Lmol(-1)s(-1) and 1.0 10(8)Lmol(-1)s(-1), respectively, in aqueous solution of pH6.4 at 25°C and more efficient than the other caffeine metabolite 1,7-dimethyl xanthine with second-order rate constant of 4.2 10(7)Lmol(-1)s(-1). Caffeine was in contrast found to be non-reactive towards triplet riboflavin. Caffeine metabolites rather than caffeine seem accordingly important for the observed protective effect against cutaneous melanoma identified for drinkers of regular but not of decaffeinated coffee. The caffeine metabolites, but not caffeine, were by time resolved single photon counting found to quench singlet excited riboflavin through exothermic formation of ground-state precursor complexes indicating importance of hydrogen bounding through keto-enol tautomer's for protection of oxidizable substrates and sensitive structures against riboflavin photosensitization.

Long-term effects of prenatal progesterone exposure: neurophysiological development and hospital admissions in twins up to 8 years of age.

OBJECTIVES: To perform a neurophysiological follow-up at 48 or 60 months of age in children exposed prenatally to progesterone compared with a placebo and evaluate their medical histories up to 8 years of age. METHODS: In this study, Danish participants of the PREDICT study, including 989 surviving children from 498 twin pregnancies, were followed-up. PREDICT was a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial examining the effect of progesterone for prevention of preterm delivery in unselected twin pregnancies. Medical histories of the children were reviewed and neurophysiological development was evaluated by the parent-completed Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at either 48 or 60 months after the estimated date of delivery. We used the method of generalized estimating equation to account for the correlation within twins. RESULTS: A total of 492 children had been exposed prenatally to progesterone and 497 to placebo. There was no difference in the number of admissions to or length of stay in hospital between the treatment groups, and we found no overall difference in the rates of diagnoses made. However, the odds ratios (ORs) for a diagnosis concerning the heart was 1.66 (95% CI, 0.81-3.37), favoring placebo, among all children, 2.38 (95% CI, 1.07-5.30) in dichorionic twins and 8.19 (95% CI, 1.02-65.6) in all children when excluding diagnoses made at outpatient clinic visits. ASQ scores were available for 437 children (progesterone, n = 225; placebo, n = 212). Mean ASQ score was slightly higher in the progesterone group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.03). In dichorionic twins, the risk of having a low ASQ score (< 10(th) centile) was decreased in the progesterone group (OR, 0.34 (95% CI, 0.14-0.86)). CONCLUSION: Second- and third-trimester exposure of the fetus to progesterone does not seem to have long-term harmful effects during childhood, but future studies should focus on cardiac disease in the child. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Astaxanthin diferulate as a bifunctional antioxidant.

Astaxanthin when esterified with ferulic acid is better singlet oxygen quencher with k2 = (1.58 ± 0.1) 10(10) L mol(-1)s(-1) in ethanol at 25°C compared with astaxanthin with k2 = (1.12 ± 0.01) 10(9) L mol(-1)s(-1). The ferulate moiety in the astaxanthin diester is a better radical scavenger than free ferulic acid as seen from the rate constant of scavenging of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals in ethanol at 25°C with a second-order rate constant of (1.68 ± 0.1) 10(8) L mol(-1)s(-1) compared with (1.60 ± 0.03) 10(7) L mol(-1)s(-1) for the astaxanthin:ferulic acid mixture, 1:2 equivalents. The mutual enhancement of antioxidant activity for the newly synthetized astaxanthin diferulate becoming a bifunctional antioxidant is rationalized according to a two-dimensional classification plot for electron donation and electron acceptance capability.

Outcome of fetuses with short femur length detected at second-trimester anomaly scan: a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between the finding of fetal femur diaphysis length (FL) below the 5(th) percentile at the second-trimester scan and pregnancy outcome, in a population in which more than 90% of women attend first-trimester screening. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all Danish singleton pregnancies with a 17-22-week anomaly scan between 1 January 2008 and 30 June 2011. Information on FL and gestational age (GA) at anomaly scan, on birth weight and GA at delivery and on chromosomal abnormalities was obtained from the Danish Fetal Medicine Database. RESULTS: Short FL was identified in 2718 (1.8%) of 147,766 fetuses and was present in 11 (16.2%) of the 68 fetuses affected by trisomy 21 (positive likelihood ratio (LR+) 8.8 (95% CI, 5.1-15.2)). Trisomy 13/18 and unbalanced autosomal structural abnormalities were also associated with a short FL in three (12.0%, LR+ 6.5 (95% CI, 2.3-18.9)) and eight (32.0%, LR+ 17.4 (95% CI, 9.8-30.9)) of the cases, respectively. The risk of a fetus having trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13 or an unbalanced autosomal structural abnormality was 1 : 123 (95% CI, 79-192), given a short FL. Pregnancies with a fetus with short FL were more often affected by early preterm delivery (before 34 weeks) (5.6%; odds ratio (OR) = 4.2 (95% CI, 3.5-4.9)) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants (13.9%; OR = 4.3 (95% CI, 3.8-4.8)). CONCLUSION: Short FL at the second-trimester anomaly scan is associated with a significantly higher relative risk of chromosomal abnormalities, and a substantially higher absolute risk for SGA and early preterm delivery.

Epicatechin and epigallocatechin gallate inhibit formation of intermediary radicals during heating of lysine and glucose.

High concentrations of the tea catechins epicatechin (EC) or epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) inhibited formation of highly reactive intermediary radicals appearing during the Maillard reactions (MR), that take place during heating glucose and lysine at 70°C in EtOH/HEPES buffer at pH 7.0 and pH 8.0. Radicals were trapped by ethanol, which subsequently were converted into spin adducts of the spin trap α-(4-pyridyl N-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN). EGCG was found to be more efficient than EC as inhibitor of intermediary radicals during the MR. Based on UV/Vis-spectroscopy, measurement of oxygen consumption and LC-MS detection of intermediates, it is suggested that the quinone form of autoxidised EC reacts with lysine through either a Michael type addition or a "Strecker like" reaction and thereby influences the formation of intermediary MR products as well as radicals.

Formation of radicals during heating lysine and glucose in solution with an intermediate water activity.

Heating glucose with lysine under alkaline conditions (pH 7.0-10.0) was found to take place with consumption of oxygen together with formation of brown-colored compounds. Highly reactive intermediary radicals were detected when lysine and glucose were heated at intermediate water activity at pH 7.0 and 8.0. The detection was based on initial trapping of highly reactive radicals by ethanol followed by spin trapping of 1-hydroxyethylradicals with α-(4-pyridyl N-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN) and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The generation of reactive intermediary radicals from the Maillard reactions was favored by enhancing alkaline conditions (pH 8.0) and stimulated by presence of the transition metal ion Fe²âº. The stability of the nitrone spin traps, N-tert-butyl-α-phenylnitrone and POBN was examined in buffered aqueous solutions within the pH range 1-12, and found to be less temperature dependent at acidic pH compared to alkaline conditions. A low rate (kobs) of hydrolysis of POBN was found at the used experimental conditions of 70°C and pH 7.0 and 8.0, which made this spin trap method suitable for the detection of radicals in the Maillard reaction system.

Quercetin and daidzein ß-apo-14'-carotenoic acid esters as membrane antioxidants.

Esterification by ß-apo-14'-carotenoic acid was found to have opposite effects on antioxidant activity of quercetin (at B4', B3' hydroxyl) as of daidzein (at A7 hydroxyl) in phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The daidzein ester had increased activity, while quercetin had a significant decreased activity. Quantum mechanical calculations using density function theory (DFT) indicate a modest decrease in bond dissociation enthalpy, BDE, for (weakest) hydrogen-oxygen phenolic bond in daidzein from 368.4 kJ · mol(- 1) to 367.7 kJ · mol(- 1) compared to a significant increase in quercetin from 329.5 kJ · mol(- 1) to 356.6 kJ · mol(- 1) upon derivatization. These opposite changes in tendency for hydrogen atom transfer from phenolic groups to lipid radicals combined with an increase in A-to-B dihedral angle from 0.0° to 36.4° and in dipole moment from 0.40 D to 6.01 D for quercetin upon derivatization, while less significant for daidzein (36.4°-36.7° and 3.26 D-7.87 D, respectively), together provide a rationale for the opposite effect of esterification on antioxidation.

Detection of triploidy at 11-14 weeks' gestation: a cohort study of 198 000 pregnant women.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the detection rate of triploidy at first-trimester screening for trisomy 21 and evaluate outcome in triploid pregnancies. METHODS: From 2008 to 2011, 198 427 women with singleton pregnancies underwent first-trimester screening between 11 + 2 and 14 + 0 weeks' gestation. Screening parameters included nuchal translucency, maternal serum free ß-human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A). In all triploid fetuses, these parameters were re-evaluated. Karyotypes were established by invasive testing (chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis) or postabortem and obtained from the Danish Cytogenetic Central Register and the Danish Fetal Medicine Database. RESULTS: A total of 30 triploid fetuses underwent first-trimester screening. Twenty-five were diagnosed as a result of abnormal first-trimester scan findings, a detection rate of 83.3%. Twenty-three fetuses were identified due to a high risk for trisomy 13, 18 or 21 and two fetuses due to structural abnormalities. The incidence of triploidy at first-trimester screening was 1:6614. A smaller crown-rump length than that estimated by date of last menstrual period was found in 95% of the fetuses with data available for evaluation. Eight fetuses had a larger biparietal diameter than expected for gestational age. Fetuses with a 69,XXX karyotype had significantly lower multiples of the median values for ß-hCG and PAPP-A than did 69,XXY fetuses (P = 0.045 and P = 0.02 forß-hCG and PAPP-A, respectively). No infants with triploidy were born in the study period. Among the triploid gestations detected on first-trimester screening, 20 (80.0%) women chose termination of pregnancy, four (16.0%) had spontaneous miscarriage and one (4.0%) was stillborn. CONCLUSION: First-trimester screening for trisomy 21 also provides a high detection rate for triploidy.

Actividad antioxidante y prooxidante del aceite esencial de ajo por resonancia de spin electrónica / Antioxiodant and prooxidant activity of esential oil of garic by electron spin resonance

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar el comportamiento antioxidante y prooxidante del aceite esencial de ajo (AE) y su posterior adición en dosis de 0,05% (A1) y 0,4% (A2) en hamburguesas de cerdo envasadas en aerobiosis y almacenadas en refrigeración hasta 6 días. Para ello se estudió la actividad antioxidante del AE en un sistema lipídico modelo (reacción de Fenton), y en hamburguesas de cerdo por REE (resonancia de spin electrónica) mediante la formación de radicales libres durante el calentamiento a 55 oC y su posterior unión con el spin trap PBN (α-fenil-N-tert-butilnitrona) a día 0, 3 y 6 de almacenamiento. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que el AE mostró efecto prooxidante a una concentración de fenoles totales ≥ 1.6 mg GAE/L. En hamburguesas A1 la formación de radicales tras 3 horas de calentamiento a 55 oC fue significativamente menor (P<0.05%) que en muestras control (C) y A2 durante todo el almacenamiento. En hamburguesas A2 dicha formación de radicales fue mayor (P<0.05%) que en la carne C y A1, por lo que a elevadas concentraciones de AE se ha observado un efecto prooxidante. Los resultados obtenidos indican el uso del aceite esencial de ajo en un porcentaje de 0,05% como antioxidante natural en hamburguesas de cerdo, pudiéndose plantear la incorporación de dicho aceite como una estrategia natural de conservación (AU)

The aim of this study was to study the antioxidant and prooxidant activity of the essential oil of garlic (AE) and the posterior addition at doses of 0.05% (A1) and 0.4% (A2) in pork patties packaged in aerobic conditions and stored in refrigeration during 6 days. For that, the antioxidant activity of the AE in a model system (Fenton reaction), and in burgers with REE (electron spin resonance) by free radical formation during heating at 55 °C and its binding to PBN (α-fenil-N-tert-butilnitrona) on days 0, 3 and 6 of storage was studied. The results showed that AE showed prooxidat effect at phenol concentration ≥ 1.6 mg GAE/L. In patties A1, the radical formation after 3 hours of heating at 55 °C was significantly lower (P <0.05%) than in control samples (C) and A2 throughout the storage. In contrast, burgers treated with 0.4% of AE showed that radical formation was higher (P <0.05%) than C and A1, therefore, the higher level of AE showed a prooxidant effect. The results indicate that the use of 0.05% essential oil of garlic, as a natural antioxidant in pork burgers, being a good strategy of conservation (AU)

Influence of chorionicity on perinatal outcome in a large cohort of Danish twin pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To assess outcome in twin pregnancies according to chorionicity. METHODS: A cohort was retrieved from local ultrasound databases at 14 obstetric departments in Denmark, comprising all twin pregnancies with two live fetuses scanned between weeks 11 and 14 in the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006. Outcome data were retrieved from the National Board of Health. RESULTS: Among 2038 twin pregnancies, 1757 (86.2%) were dichorionic (DC) and 281 (13.8%) were monochorionic diamniotic (MC). In MC pregnancies, the rate of spontaneous fetal loss in both second and third trimesters was more than threefold higher than the comparable rate in DC pregnancies: 6.0% vs. 1.9% for at least one fetus in the second trimester (P < 0.001) and 2.1% vs. 0.7% in the third trimester (P = 0.03). In 98.4% of DC pregnancies and in 91.1% of MC pregnancies, at least one infant was liveborn. Amongst pregnancies with two live fetuses at 24 weeks, the proportion with two live infants at 28 days after delivery was 97.5% and 95.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The increased incidence of fetal loss in MC pregnancies compared with DC pregnancies predominantly occurs before 24 weeks' gestation. After this stage, although the risk of intrauterine fetal death is still higher in MC than in DC pregnancies, if both fetuses are alive at 24 weeks, the chance of a woman having two live infants 1 month after delivery is similar in MC and DC pregnancies.

First-trimester screening for trisomy 21 in Denmark: implications for detection and birth rates of trisomy 18 and trisomy 13.

OBJECTIVES: In Denmark a new national guideline for prenatal screening and diagnosis was issued in 2004 according to which all pregnant women should be offered a first-trimester combined risk assessment for trisomy 21 (T21). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the new screening strategy for T21 has changed the gestational age at which trisomy 18 (T18) and trisomy 13 (T13) are diagnosed prenatally, and the number of infants born with T18 or T13. METHODS: We collected from the Danish Cytogenetic Central Register information on all prenatal and postnatal chromosome analyses for T18 or T13, registered from 1997 to 2007. Information on first-trimester screening results was collected from each department of obstetrics and gynecology performing the nuchal translucency scans. The cut-off used for referral to invasive diagnostic testing for T21 and for T18/T13 was 1 : 300 and 1 : 150 at screening, respectively. RESULTS: In total, there were 435 cases with T18 and 168 cases with T13 between 1997 and 2007 in Denmark. The estimated incidence of T18 and T13 at the time of delivery was calculated as 2.5 and 1.6 per 10 000 deliveries, respectively. The number (proportion) of cases diagnosed before week 18 increased significantly, from 63 (59.4%) in 1997 and 1998 to 90 (80.4%) in 2006 and 2007 (P < 0.001). In addition, the number of T18 and T13 cases diagnosed prenatally after week 22 or postnatally decreased significantly, from 34 (32.1%) in 1997 and 1998 to seven (6.3%) in 2006 and 2007 (P < 0.0001). For women participating in first-trimester risk assessment in 2006 and 2007, the detection rate of T18 and T13 was 78.8% (95% CI, 71.0-86.7%). CONCLUSION: The number of T18 and T13 fetuses diagnosed before week 18 increased significantly after the introduction of a combined first-trimester screening strategy for T21 in Denmark. In addition, the total number of fetuses diagnosed late in pregnancy and infants born with T18 or T13 decreased significantly. The national detection rate for T18 and T13 in the first trimester is comparable with detection rates found in modeled datasets and other prospective studies.

Potentials to differentiate milk composition by different feeding strategies.

To investigate the effect of the dietary intake of the cow on milk composition, bulk-tank milk was collected on 5 occasions from conventional (n = 15) and organic (n = 10) farms in Denmark and on 4 occasions from low-input nonorganic farms in the United Kingdom, along with management and production parameters. Production of milk based on feeding a high intake of cereals, pasture, and grass silage resulted in milk with a high concentration of alpha-linolenic acid (9.4 +/- 0.2 mg/kg of fatty acids), polyunsaturated fatty acids (3.66 +/- 0.07 mg/kg of fatty acids), and natural stereoisomer of alpha-tocopherol (RRR-alpha-tocopherol, 18.6 +/- 0.5 mg/kg of milk fat). A milk production system using a high proportion of maize silage, by-products, and commercial concentrate mix was associated with milk with high concentrations of linoleic acid (LA; 19.7 +/- 0.4 g/kg of fatty acids), monounsaturated fatty acids (27.5 +/- 0.3 mg/kg of fatty acids), and a high ratio between LA and alpha-linolenic acid (4.7 +/- 0.2). Comparing these 2 production systems with a very extensive nonorganic milk production system relying on pasture as almost the sole feed (95 +/- 4% dry matter intake), it was found that the concentrations of conjugated LA (cis-9,trans-11; 17.5 +/- 0.7 g/kg of fatty acids), trans-11-vaccenic acid (37 +/- 2 g/kg of fatty acids), and monounsaturated fatty acids (30.4 +/- 0.6 g/kg of fatty acids) were higher in the extensively produced milk together with the concentration of antioxidants; total alpha-tocopherol (32.0 +/- 0.8 mg/kg of milk fat), RRR-alpha-tocopherol (30.2 +/- 0.8 mg/kg of milk fat), and beta-carotene (9.3 +/- 0.5 mg/kg of milk fat) compared with the organic and conventional milk. Moreover, the concentration of LA (9.2 +/- 0.7 g/kg of fatty acids) in milk from the extensive milk production system was found to approach the recommended unity ratio between n-6 and n-3, although extensive milk production also resulted in a lower daily milk yield.

Dizygotic monochorionic twin pregnancy conceived following intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment and complicated by twin-twin transfusion syndrome and blood chimerism.

We report a case of a dizygotic monochorionic twin pregnancy preceded by intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment including assisted hatching. On ultrasound examination at 25 weeks' gestation the twins, which had been assumed to be monochorionic, were found to be of different sexes. Karyotyping and zygocity determination were performed on amniotic fluid and showed the twins to be dizygotic with normal female and male karyotypes. There were clinical and sonographic signs of twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), and Cesarean delivery was performed at 32 weeks' gestation. At birth the twins were phenotypically a normal male and a normal female. Histology of the placenta showed it to be monochorionic diamniotic. Blood chimerism was found postnatally as both infants had the karyotypes 46,XX[13]/46,XY[17]. Chimerism was not found in cells from a buccal swab at 6 months of age. This is one of only a few reported cases of dizygotic monochorionic twins. Nearly all of these cases have been conceived after assisted reproductive technology procedures. It is of clinical importance to be aware of this rare phenomenon in relation to TTTS, prenatal screening and parental counseling.

Comparison of descriptive sensory analysis and chemical analysis for oxidative changes in milk.

Oxidation in 3 types of bovine milk with different fatty acid profiles obtained through manipulation of feed was evaluated by analytical methods quantifying the content of potential antioxidants, the tendency of formation of free radicals, and the accumulation of primary and secondary oxidation products. The milk samples were evaluated in parallel by descriptive sensory analysis by a trained panel, and the correlation between the chemical analysis and the descriptive sensory analysis was evaluated. The fatty acid composition of the 3 types of milk was found to influence the oxidative and lipolytic changes occurring in the milk during chill storage for 4 d. Sensory analysis and chemical analysis showed high correlation between the typical descriptors for oxidation such as cardboard, metallic taste, and boiled milk and specific chemical markers for oxidation such as hexanal. Notably, primary oxidation products (i.e., lipid hydroperoxides) and even the tendency of formation of radicals as measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy were also highly correlated to the sensory descriptors for oxidation. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy should accordingly be further explored as a routine method for detection of early events in lipid oxidation in milk to predict shelf-life.

Green tea extract only affects markers of oxidative status postprandially: lasting antioxidant effect of flavonoid-free diet.

Epidemiological studies suggest that foods rich in flavonoids might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of green tea extract (GTE) used as a food antioxidant on markers of oxidative status after dietary depletion of flavonoids and catechins. The study was designed as a 2 x 3 weeks blinded human cross-over intervention study (eight smokers, eight non-smokers) with GTE corresponding to a daily intake of 18.6 mg catechins/d. The GTE was incorporated into meat patties and consumed with a strictly controlled diet otherwise low in flavonoids. GTE intervention increased plasma antioxidant capacity from 1.35 to 1.56 (P<0.02) in postprandially collected plasma, most prominently in smokers. The intervention did not significantly affect markers in fasting blood samples, including plasma or haemoglobin protein oxidation, plasma oxidation lagtime, or activities of the erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase. Neither were fasting plasma triacylglycerol, cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol, retinol, beta-carotene, or ascorbic acid affected by intervention. Urinary 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine excretion was also unaffected. Catechins from the extract were excreted into urine with a half-life of less than 2 h in accordance with the short-term effects on plasma antioxidant capacity. Since no long-term effects of GTE were observed, the study essentially served as a fruit and vegetables depletion study. The overall effect of the 10-week period without dietary fruits and vegetables was a decrease in oxidative damage to DNA, blood proteins, and plasma lipids, concomitantly with marked changes in antioxidative defence.

Modification of the levels of polyphenols in wort and beer by addition of hexamethylenetetramine or sulfite during mashing.

The effects of addition of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) or sulfite during mashing on the polyphenol content and oxidative stability of wort and beer have been evaluated in a series of laboratory mashings and pilot brews. HMT reduced the concentration of catechin, prodelphinidin B-3, and procyanidin B-3 in wort and beer, whereas the concentration of ferulic acid was unaffected. Sulfite had only a minor effect on the concentration of phenolics in wort and beer. Addition of HMT or sulfite during mashing increased the oxidative stability of the beer slightly as judged by the tendency of formation of radicals (ESR spin trapping technique), although sensory analysis gave identical flavor acceptance scores to beers produced from untreated and HMT-treated wort and lower scores to beer from sulfite-treated wort. No difference in the oxidative stability of the differently treated sweet worts could be detected as judged by the rate of formation of radicals. HMT addition during mashing has thus been demonstrated to be a valuable experimental tool to control the level of polyphenols in wort and for producing brews with various levels of polyphenols from a single malt.

Antioxidant mechanism of flavonoids. Solvent effect on rate constant for chain-breaking reaction of quercetin and epicatechin in autoxidation of methyl linoleate.

The rate of oxygen depletion, as measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (oximetry using a spin probe), in a homogeneous solution of peroxidating methyl linoleate (initiated by an azo initiator) in the presence or absence of antioxidants was converted to second-order rate constants for the inhibiting reaction of quercetin and epicatechin. In the non-hydrogen-bonding solvent chlorobenzene at 50 degrees C, k(inh) had values of 4.3 x 10(5) M(-)(1) s(-)(1) for quercetin and 4.2 x 10(5) M(-)(1) s(-)(1) for epicatechin, respectively. In the hydrogen-accepting "water-like" solvent tert-butyl alcohol, the values were 2.1 x 10(4) and 1.7 x 10(4) M(-)(1) s(-)(1), respectively. The solvent effect (factor of 20) is more significant than for alpha-tocopherol (factor of 4), and the two flavonoids have efficiencies comparable to that of alpha-tocopherol in scavenging peroxyl radicals in the nonpolar solvent but not in the hydrogen-bonding solvent.

Acardiac twin with preserved brain.

The fatal acardiac syndrome is a rare complication of monochorionic twinning and is reported in 1 of 35,000 births. It is caused by arterioarterial and venovenous placental anastomoses leading to circulatory predominance of 1 twin. The donor 'pump' twin provides circulation for itself and for the recipient acardiac twin. The acardiac twin is usually grossly abnormal with severe reduction anomalies of the upper part of the body. We report a twin pregnancy, where a recipient twin initially by ultrasound was misdiagnosed as dead. In the third trimester the supposedly dead twin presented as an edematous acardiac twin without peripheral reduction defects and a nearly normally developed brain. An acardiac twin with a nearly normal external appearance and an almost normally developed brain, nourished by a surviving twin brother, has not previously been described in the literature.