1. The aim of study was to investigate whether the impact of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the histological structure of the intestine, innervation of the small intestine wall, and basal biochemical serum parameters in Japanese quail was sex dependent. 2. One-day-old healthy male and female Japanese quail were fed either a basal diet containing no yeast (control group) or the basal diet plus 1.5% (15 g/kg of diet) of yeast (S. cerevisiae inactivated by drying). Samples from the duodenum and jejunum were taken from each bird at the age of 42 days. Blood samples were collected at this age and the concentrations of glucose, total protein, creatinine, uric acid, lipid profile (total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL), and triacylglycerols (TG)), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), amylase (AMY), calcium, phosphorus, and iron were determined. 3. Female quail fed diets supplemented with yeast had significantly lower total cholesterol and amylase activity than the control females. The concentration of HDL was higher in the male quail than in the females, irrespective of the treatment. An opposite effect was observed in LDL. The diet treatments influenced the activity of AspAT, which was significantly less in the male quail fed diets with 1.5% yeast. 4. Supplementation with S. cerevisiae increased the myenteron, submucosa, and mucosa thickness, villus length and thickness and size of absorptive surface, while the number of villi and enterocytes were decreased in the duodenum in males. Female quail showed an increased absorptive surface in the jejunum. The Meissner (submucosal) plexuses were influenced by the feeding and sex to a greater extent than the Auerbach plexus (in the muscularis propria). 5. The results demonstrated that S. cerevisiae (1.5%) in the diet caused significant positive effects in Japanese quail, exerting an effect on the morphology of the small intestine in a sex-dependent manner.

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a condition associated with high rates of mortality and lengthy hospital stays. In the current study, SAP mouse models were established in BALB/c wild-type and P21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) knockdown mice with the objective of determining the expression of microRNA-542-5p (miR-542-5p) and the subsequent elucidation of the mechanism by which it influences acute lung injury (ALI) by mediating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling and binding to PAK1. The targeting relationship between miR-542-5p and PAK1 was verified using the bioinformatics prediction website and by the means of a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Following the SAP model establishment, the mice were assigned into various groups with the introduction of different mimic and inhibitors in an attempt to investigate the effects involved with miR-542-5p on inflammatory reactions among mice with SAP-associated ALI. Our results indicated that PAK1 was targeted and negatively mediated by miR-542-5p. Mice with SAP-associated ALI exhibited an increased wet-to-dry weight ratio, myeloperoxidase activity, serum amylase activity, TNF-α, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) contents, p-p38MAPK, p-ERK1/2, and p-JNK protein levels as well as PAK1 positive expression, while decreased miR-542-5p levels were observed. Functionally, overexpression of miR-542-5p improves ALI in mice with SAP via inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway by binding to PAK1.Based on the evidence from experimental models, miR-542-5p was shown to improve ALI among mice with SAP, while suggesting that the effect may be related to the inactivation of the MAPK signaling pathway and downregulation of PAK1 gene. Thus, miR-542-5p could serve as a promising target for ALI treatment.

Kwashiorkor, a form of malnutrition has been shown to cause impaired salivary secretion. However, there is dearth of information on mechanism that underlies this complication. Also, whether returning to normal-diet after kwashiorkor will reverse these complications or not is yet to be discerned. Thus, this study aimed at assessing the mechanisms that underlie kwashiorkor-induced salivary impairments and to evaluate the effects of switching back to normal-diet on kwashiorkor-induced salivary impairments. Weaning rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (control, kwashiorkor, re-fed kwashiorkor) of 7 rats each. The control had standard rat-chow while the kwashiorkor group (KG) and re-fed kwashiorkor group (RKG) were fed 2% protein-diet for 6 weeks to induce kwashiorkor. The RKG had their diet changed to standard rat-chow for another 6 weeks. Blood and stimulated saliva samples were collected for the analysis of total protein, electrolytes, amylase, IgA secretion rate, leptin and ghrelin. Tissue total protein, nitric oxide level, expressions of Na+/K+-ATPase, muscarinic (M3) receptor and aquaporin5 in the submandibular glands were also determined. Data were presented as mean ± SEM and compared using ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test. RKG showed improved salivary function evidenced by reduced salivary lag-time, potassium, with increased, flow rate, sodium, amylase, IgA secretion rate, leptin, submandibular nitric oxide level and aquaporin5 expression compared with KG. This study for the first time has demonstrated that kwashiorkor caused significant reduction in salivary secretion through reduction of nitric oxide level and aquaporin5 expression in submandibular salivary glands. Normal-diet re-feeding after kwashiorkor returned salivary secretion to normal.

A 49-year-old male with history of chronic alcohol-induced pancreatitis presented with one month of worsening left pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. Chest radiograph demonstrated bilateral pleural effusions. Thoracentesis revealed increased amylase in the pleural fluid. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) showed a fistula tract between the left pleural cavity and pancreas which was confirmed on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Patient was treated with placement of a pancreatic stent with complete resolution of the fistula tract approximately in 9 weeks. A systematic literature search was performed on reported cases with pancreaticopleural fistula (PPF) who underwent early therapeutic endoscopy within the last 10 years. Imaging modalities, particularly CT and MRCP, play essential role in prompt preprocedural diagnosis of PPF. Early therapeutic ERCP is an effective and relatively safe treatment option for PPF, so invasive surgery may be avoided.

The roles of native and damaged starch (DS) during fermented pastry making were examined by increasing the level of DS in wheat flour by ball-milling and/or by including amylase in the recipe. Increased DS levels increase laminated dough strength presumably by making less water available for the gluten. This effect was partly overcome by amylase use. During baking, a reduced resistance of the dough to gas cell expansion, as a result of enzymatic starch hydrolysis, seems responsible for increased pastry lift and improved crumb structure. Gelatinization of intact starch limits dough lift and expansion. Even at high amylase dosages structural collapse was limited, which suggests a significant role for gluten in pastry product structure formation. Differential scanning calorimetry and low-resolution 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance experiments indicated that increased levels of starch damage and amylase use impact the amylose network in the product and respectively increase and decrease the extent to which amylopectin retrogrades during storage.

This case study investigated how macronutrient intake, BMI, ethnicity, age and gender are related to the composition of unstimulated saliva. First, two groups of Caucasian, Dutch subjects varying in daily intake of carbohydrate, fat and protein were selected. The daily intake of macronutrients differed by 2-3-fold between the low (n=14) and high (n=16) macronutrient intake groups. The same subjects were divided into two groups based on BMI: normal weight (n=14, 22.5±2.0 Kg/m2 ) and overweight (n=16, 28.1±3.4 Kg/m2 ). Secondly, one group of Caucasian, Dutch (n=15) and one group of Asian, Chinese (n=15) subjects were selected. Unstimulated saliva was collected from all groups. Protein concentration, amylolytic activity, lipolytic activity and saliva flow rate were determined. None of the salivary parameters varied according to macronutrient intake and BMI. An effect of ethnicity on protein concentration was observed (p<0.01; η2 =0.142), with Asians having a 45% higher protein concentration in unstimulated saliva than Caucasians. Age had a significant effect on all salivary parameters. Protein concentration (p<0.01; η2 =0.256), amylolytic activity (p<0.01; η2 =0.234) and lipolytic activity (p<0.05; η2 =0.207) increased with age, while saliva flow rate decreased (p<0.01; η2 =0.262). Gender had a significant effect on saliva flow rate (p<0.01; η2 =0.130), with male subjects having a 32% higher flow rate than females. Age was the factor that had the greatest impact on the characteristics of unstimulated saliva. As the modulation of saliva composition according to diet has been reported previously, the extent to which macronutrient intake can affect saliva composition needs to be further investigated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of three Bacillus strains on growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, antioxidative capacity, serum immunity, and biochemical parameters in broilers. A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated into four groups with three replicates per group (n = 30). The control group was fed a basal diet, whereas the other groups fed basal diet supplemented with either Bacillus subtilis natto or Bacillus licheniformis or Bacillus cereus (108  cfu/kg) for 42 days, respectively. The results revealed that the probiotic-treated groups markedly improved final body weight, daily weight gain, and the activities of trypsin, amylase, lipase and total protease (p < 0.05). Moreover, chicks fed probiotics had higher serum glutathione peroxidase activity and O2- level, as well as hepatic catalase and superoxide dismutase activities, whereas malondialdehyde levels in serum and liver were reduced (p < 0.05). The significant increased IgA (p < 0.05) was observed in the probiotics groups as compared to the control group. In addition, dietary administration of probiotic strain markedly reduced the levels of serum ammonia, uric acid, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. Taken together, these three probiotic Bacillus showed beneficial effects on chickens with minor strain specificity.

Current saliva testing methods rely on cutting edge yet expensive techniques for the detection and analysis of genetic material, proteins and biomarkers for clinical use. However, these techniques are limited in scope and often cannot be used with complex food materials. We propose an efficient ex-vivo tool for evaluating biologically relevant interactions between food components and human saliva using sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AUC). We evaluated macromolecular content from "unstimulated" (US) and "stimulated" (SS) samples pooled from 5 healthy volunteers. Over 90% of total saliva protein consisted of α-amylase and mucin, and up to 10% was secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA). It was shown that α-amylase concentration increased upon parafilm stimulation, which lead to a decrease in the viscosity of saliva. Then, we used a simple food system (green tea) to evaluate changes in the salivary protein content caused by green tea polyphenols. It was found that aroma release from green tea is highly influenced by interactions between α-amylase and polyphenol epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG). This interaction was found to increase the viscosity of the salivary bulk, suggested to contribute to astringency, and increased the concentrations of β-ionone, benzaldehyde and isovaleraldehyde (P < 0.01), suggested to play a significant role in the characteristic flavour of green tea.

Primarily, lithium (Li) resource development and wider application of Li-ion batteries result in Li pollution and concomitantly poses increasing and inevitable problems to environmental health and safety. However, information is rare about the scope of the remediation of Li contaminated soil. Apocynum venetum is already proved to be a Li-accumulator with high Li tolerance and accumulation (Jiang et al., 2014). However, it is not clear whether Apocynum pictum, another species of the same genus with the same uses as A. venetum, is also a Li-accumulator. We investigated germination, growth and physiological responses of A. pictum to different levels of LiCl. Germination was not significantly affected by low Li concentration (0-100 mmol L-1). As LiCl increased from 100 to 400 mmol L-1, both germination percentage and index decreased gradually. For germination of A. pictum seeds, the critical value (when germination percentage is 50%) in LiCl solution was 235 mmol L-1, and the limit value (when germination percentage is 0%) was 406 mmol L-1. A. pictum could accumulate >1,800 mg kg-1 Li in leaves, and still survived under 400 mg kg-1 Li supply. The high Li tolerance of A. pictum during germination and growth stage was also reflected by activity of α-amylase and contents of soluble sugar, proline and photosynthetic pigments under different Li treatments. The bioconcentration factors (BCF) (except control) and translocation factors (TF) were higher than 1.0. High tolerance and accumulation of Li indicated that A. pictum is Li-accumulator. Therefore, this species could be useful for revegetation and phytoremediation of Li contaminated soil.