Metabolomic profiles of ovariectomized mice and their associations with body composition and frailty-related parameters in postmenopausal women

BACKGROUND

Menopause, a dramatical estrogen-deficient condition, is considered the most significant milestone in women's health.

PURPOSE

To investigate the metabolite changes attributed to estrogen deficiency using random forest (RF)-based machine learning (ML) modeling strategy in ovariectomized (OVX) mice as well as determine the clinical relevance of selected metabolites in older women.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Untargeted and targeted metabolomic analyses revealed that metabolites related to TCA cycle, sphingolipids, phospholipids, fatty acids, and amino acids, were significantly changed in the plasma and/or muscle of OVX mice. Subsequent ML classifiers based on RF algorithm selected alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), arginine, carnosine, ceramide C24, phosphatidylcholine (PC) aa C36:6, and PC ae C42:3 in plasma as well as PC aa 34:1, PC aa C34:3, PC aa C36:5, PC aa C32:1, PC aa C36:2, and sphingosine in muscle as top featured metabolites that differentiate the OVX mice from the sham-operated group. When circulating levels of AKG, arginine, and carnosine, which showed the most significant changes in OVX mice blood, were measured in postmenopausal women, higher plasma AKG levels were associated with lower bone mass, weak grip strength, poor physical performance, and increased frailty risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Metabolomics- and ML-based methods identified the key metabolites of blood and muscle that were significantly changed after ovariectomy in mice, and the clinical implication of several metabolites was investigated by looking at their correlation with body composition and frailty-related parameters in postmenopausal women. These findings provide crucial context for understanding the diverse physiological alterations caused by estrogen deficiency in women.

An extremely energetic cosmic ray observed by a surface detector array

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles from extraterrestrial sources, with the highest-energy events thought to come from extragalactic sources. Their arrival is infrequent, so detection requires instruments with large collecting areas. In this work, we report the detection of an extremely energetic particle recorded by the surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment. We calculate the particle's energy as [Formula: see text] (~40 joules). Its arrival direction points back to a void in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Possible explanations include a large deflection by the foreground magnetic field, an unidentified source in the local extragalactic neighborhood, or an incomplete knowledge of particle physics.

Stability assessment of anthocyanins from black soybean, grape, and purple sweet potato under in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

Anthocyanins are glycosylated derivatives of anthocyanidins, whose hydroxyl groups are occasionally acylated with organic acids. The effect of anthocyanin composition on their stability under in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was investigated. Black soybean had all glycosylated anthocyanins with monosaccharide, grape contained glycosylated anthocyanins with disaccharide (23%) and acylated anthocyanins bound with two sugars (77%), and purple sweet potato had all acylated anthocyanins bound with three sugars. The order of total anthocyanins content was purple sweet potato, grape, and black soybean. Gastric digestion did not significantly decrease anthocyanins content in three samples, while intestinal digestion resulted in the significant decrease of total anthocyanins content in black soybean (40%), grape (45%), and purple sweet potato (25%). This indicates that the degree of glycosylation and acylation of anthocyanins affects their stability under the gastrointestinal conditions. Phenolic acids derived from anthocyanin degradation increased total phenolic content as well as ABTS radical scavenging activity.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-022-01071-6.

Cellular uptake of anthocyanins extracted from black soybean, grape, and purple sweet potato using INT-407 cells

This study combined in vitro digestion and INT-407 cells to evaluate the bioaccessibility of anthocyanins in the small intestinal epithelial cells. Black soybean, grape, and purple sweet potato were chosen as they have a different anthocyanin composition. After the aqueous extract was digested under in vitro gastric and intestinal conditions, the digested mixture was incubated in the media of INT-407 for 2 h at 37 °C. Low proportion (< 0.3%) of anthocyanins in black soybean and grape passed through cell membranes. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside in black soybean and cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)-5-O-diglucoside and delphinidin-3-O-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)-5-O-diglucoside in grape were found inside the cell. However, acylated anthocyanins containing three sugar moieties in purple sweet potato were not detected inside the cell. p-Coumaric acid was detected in the cells incubated with grape, but not in the media. These indicate that chemical structure of anthocyanins affected their cellular uptake and antioxidant activity in INT-407 cells.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00976-y.

Inefficient Magnetic-Field Amplification in Supersonic Laser-Plasma Turbulence

We report a laser-plasma experiment that was carried out at the LMJ-PETAL facility and realized the first magnetized, turbulent, supersonic (Ma_{turb}≈2.5) plasma with a large magnetic Reynolds number (Rm≈45) in the laboratory. Initial seed magnetic fields were amplified, but only moderately so, and did not become dynamically significant. A notable absence of magnetic energy at scales smaller than the outer scale of the turbulent cascade was also observed. Our results support the notion that moderately supersonic, low-magnetic-Prandtl-number plasma turbulence is inefficient at amplifying magnetic fields compared to its subsonic, incompressible counterpart.

Supersonic plasma turbulence in the laboratory

The properties of supersonic, compressible plasma turbulence determine the behavior of many terrestrial and astrophysical systems. In the interstellar medium and molecular clouds, compressible turbulence plays a vital role in star formation and the evolution of our galaxy. Observations of the density and velocity power spectra in the Orion B and Perseus molecular clouds show large deviations from those predicted for incompressible turbulence. Hydrodynamic simulations attribute this to the high Mach number in the interstellar medium (ISM), although the exact details of this dependence are not well understood. Here we investigate experimentally the statistical behavior of boundary-free supersonic turbulence created by the collision of two laser-driven high-velocity turbulent plasma jets. The Mach number dependence of the slopes of the density and velocity power spectra agree with astrophysical observations, and supports the notion that the turbulence transitions from being Kolmogorov-like at low Mach number to being more Burgers-like at higher Mach numbers.

Characterisation of spatial variability in water quality in the Great Barrier Reef catchments using multivariate statistical analysis

Water quality monitoring is important to assess changes in inland and coastal water quality. The focus of this study was to improve understanding of the spatial component of spatial-temporal water quality dynamics, particularly the spatial variability in water quality and the association between this spatial variability and catchment characteristics. A dataset of nine water quality constituents collected from 32 monitoring sites over a 11-year period (2006-2016), across the Great Barrier Reef catchments (Queensland, Australia), were evaluated by multivariate techniques. Two clusters were identified, which were strongly associated with catchment characteristics. A two-step Principal Component Analysis/Factor Analysis revealed four groupings of constituents with similar spatial pattern and allowed the key catchment characteristics affecting water quality to be determined. These findings provide a more nuanced view of spatial variations in water quality compared with previous understanding and an improved basis for water quality management to protect nearshore marine ecosystem.

Application of response surface methodology to acidified water extraction of black soybeans for improving anthocyanin content, total phenols content and antioxidant activity

Acidified water extraction of total anthocyanin content, total phenol content and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging activity from black soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merr. Cheongja4ho) was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A five-level, three-factor central composite design was employed to optimize the conditions for the maximum yields of these three components using19 different experiments. The HCl concentration (0.3-0.5%), solid-liquid ratio (1/30-1/50 g/mL) and extraction temperature (30-50 °C) significantly affected three components. The optimized conditions were HCl concentration of 0.359%, solid-liquid ratio of 1/54.2 g/mL and extraction temperature of 56.8 °C for total anthocyanin content (136.68 mg/100 g), total phenol content (1197.09 mg/100 g) and ABTS+ scavenging activity (211.65 mg/100 g). These experimental values fit well with the predicted values. Among three anthocyanins found in the black soybean extracts, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was the major one (65-73% of the total), followed by petunidin-3-O-glucoside (17-23%) and delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (10-12%).

Laboratory evidence of dynamo amplification of magnetic fields in a turbulent plasma

Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the Universe. The energy density of these fields is typically comparable to the energy density of the fluid motions of the plasma in which they are embedded, making magnetic fields essential players in the dynamics of the luminous matter. The standard theoretical model for the origin of these strong magnetic fields is through the amplification of tiny seed fields via turbulent dynamo to the level consistent with current observations. However, experimental demonstration of the turbulent dynamo mechanism has remained elusive, since it requires plasma conditions that are extremely hard to re-create in terrestrial laboratories. Here we demonstrate, using laser-produced colliding plasma flows, that turbulence is indeed capable of rapidly amplifying seed fields to near equipartition with the turbulent fluid motions. These results support the notion that turbulent dynamo is a viable mechanism responsible for the observed present-day magnetization.

Probabilistic dietary exposure to ethyl carbamate from fermented foods and alcoholic beverages in the Korean population

The occurrence of ethyl carbamate was investigated in fermented foods and alcoholic beverages of the Korean total diet study. The concentrations of ethyl carbamate ranged from not detected to 166.5 μg kg^-1. Dietary exposure to ethyl carbamate was estimated by the probabilistic method. Estimated intakes of ethyl carbamate from foods and alcoholic beverages were 4.12 ng kg^-1 body weight (bw) per day for average consumers and 12.37 ng kg^-1 bw/day for 95th percentile high consumers. The major foods contributing to ethyl carbamate exposure were soy sauce (63%), followed by maesilju (plum liqueur, 30%), whisky (5%), and bokbunjaju (black raspberry wine, 2%). On the basis of the benchmark dose lower confidence limit 10% (BMDL₁₀) of 0.3 mg kg^-1 bw/day, margins of exposure were 128,000 for mean exposure and 40,000 for 95th percentile exposure. This indicates that the exposure of the Korean general population for ethyl carbamate is of low concern. However, careful vigilance should be continued for high consumers of fermented foods and alcoholic beverages.

Determination of Ethyl Carbamate in Alcoholic Beverages and Fermented Foods Sold in Korea

Ethyl carbamate (EC) classified as a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A) is naturally formed in alcoholic beverages and fermented foods during fermentation process and/or during storage. The objective of this study was to analyze EC in 34 food items including 14 alcoholic beverages and 20 fermented foods sold in Korea. Each food was collected from 18 supermarkets in 9 metropolitan cities in Korea, and then made into composite. According to food composition and alcohol content, samples were divided into four matrices such as apple juice, milk, Soju (liquor containing about 20% alcohol), and rice porridge. The maximum EC value of 151.06 µg/kg was found in Maesilju (liquor made from Maesil and Soju). Whisky and Bokbunjaju (Korean black raspberry wine) contained 9.90 µg/kg and 6.30 µg/kg, respectively. EC was not detected in other alcoholic beverages. Of 20 fermented foods, Japanese-style soy sauce had highest level of 15.59 µg/kg and traditional one contained 4.18 µg/kg. Soybean paste had 1.18 µg/kg, however, EC was not found in other fermented foods.

Bayesian framework for parametric bivariate accelerated lifetime modeling and its application to hospital acquired infections

Infectious diseases that can be spread directly or indirectly from one person to another are caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi. Infectious diseases remain one of the greatest threats to human health and the analysis of infectious disease data is among the most important application of statistics. In this article, we develop Bayesian methodology using parametric bivariate accelerated lifetime model to study dependency between the colonization and infection times for Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria which is leading cause of infection among the hospital infection agents. We also study their associations with covariates such as age, gender, apache score, antibiotics use 3 months before admission and invasive mechanical ventilation use. To account for singularity, we use Singular Bivariate Extreme Value distribution to model residuals in Bivariate Accelerated lifetime model under the fully Bayesian framework. We analyze a censored data related to the colonization and infection collected in five major hospitals in Turkey using our methodology. The data analysis done in this article is for illustration of our proposed method and can be applied to any situation that our model can be used.

Effects of different extrusion conditions on the chemical and toxicological fate of fumonisin B1 in maize: a short review

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a common mycotoxin found in maize and maize-based food products. Although FB1 is relatively heat stable and survives most thermal processes, extrusion cooking has been shown to be effective at reducing levels of the toxin in contaminated maize. This review summarises studies on the chemical and toxicological fate of FB1 in maize extruded under different conditions. Overall, these studies indicate that stability of FB1 depends on the extrusion conditions, e.g. temperature and screw speed, and that the presence of reducing sugars augment apparent loss of the toxin. The chemical fate of FB1 was investigated by measuring FB1, hydrolysed FB1, and N-substituted FB1 compounds with a mass balance approach while the relative toxicity was determined by rat feeding trials. FB1 in contaminated grits was reduced by 21-37% and 77-87% in the absence and presence of 10% (w/w) glucose, respectively, during single-screw extrusion. Greater reductions of 64-72% and 89-94% were achieved by twin-screw extrusion. Mass balance analysis showed that most of the FB1 in grits extruded without glucose was recovered as FB1, whereas the FB1-glucose reaction product, N-(deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)-fumonisin B1 was the prevalent form after extrusion with glucose. 23 to 38% of FB1 in extruded grits with and without added glucose was bound to component(s) of the maize grits. Only 37-46% of FB1 present in unextruded grits could be recovered as one of the fumonisin species (hydrolysed FB1, N-substituted FB1 compounds) or as matrix-bound forms in extruded grits. Reduced FB1 concentrations in extruded grits and the even lower concentrations in grits extruded with glucose resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of toxicity as shown by the less severe apoptotic lesions and sphingolipid effects that were found in the kidneys of rats. In summary, extrusion processing, especially with glucose supplementation, is potentially useful to reduce FB1 concentrations and toxicity of contaminated maize.

Construction of killer wine yeast strain

A double-stranded RNA plasmid which confers the superkiller phenotype was transferred into a wine yeast (Montrachet strain 522) and its leucine-requiring derivative (strain 694) by cytoduction, using the protoplast fusion technique. The killer wine yeast constructed completely suppressed the growth of killer-sensitive strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in yeast extract-peptone-glucose medium at pH 4.5, whereas the killer effect was somewhat decreased at pH 3.5. The wine yeast harboring the killer factor also inhibited the growth of killer-sensitive cells satisfactorily when it was grown in grape juice.

Natural occurrence of aflatoxins in Korean meju

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was found in 35 of 60 (58.3%) meju samples with an average concentration of 7.3 ng/g by ELISA. Contamination of AFB1 was confirmed in 25 of 60 samples (41.6%) using HPLC, with an average concentration of 6.9 ng/g. Mean recoveries from meju ranged from 107% to 170% for AFB1 using ELISA at a spiking range of 1 to 50 ng/g. Over the same range, recoveries using HPLC were from 70% to 83%. The levels of AFB1 determined by ELISA and by HPLC demonstrated a close relationship between the two methods (r2 = 0.9324) employed in this study. In order to evaluate the potential health risks of AFB1 on Koreans consuming meju, we calculated the estimated probable daily intake (PDI) based on the average contamination levels and compared it with the estimated tolerable daily intake (TDI). The PDIs of AFB1 from kanjang and dwenjang were determined to be 0.04 and 0.21 ng/kg bw/day, respectively, and were higher than TDIs.

Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in Korean dairy products determined by ELISA and HPLC

The occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in pasteurized milk and dairy products was investigated by using direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The recoveries of AFM1 from the samples spiked at levels between 5 and 500 pg/ml were 88.0-106.5% for pasteurized milk and 84.0-94.0% for yoghurt by ELISA. By HPLC, the recoveries were 103-120% for pasteurized milk and 87.0-93.0% for yoghurt. The limits of detection were found to be 2 pg/ml by ELISA and 10 pg/ml by HPLC. Among a total of 180 samples collected in Seoul, Korea, the incidence of AFM1 in pasteurized milk, infant formula, powdered milk and yoghurt was 76, 85, 75, and 83%, respectively, with a mean concentration of 18, 46, 200, and 29 pg/g, respectively, when determined by ELISA. These results obtained by ELISA were closely related to those by HPLC for AFM1 (r2 = 0.9783).

Enhanced Cloud Disruption by Magnetic Field Interaction

We present results from the first three-dimensional numerical simulations of moderately supersonic cloud motion through a tenuous, magnetized medium. We show that the interaction of the cloud with a magnetic field perpendicular to its motion has a great dynamical impact on the development of instabilities at the cloud surface. Even for initially spherical clouds, magnetic field lines become trapped in surface deformations and undergo stretching. The consequent field amplification that occurs there and, in particular, its variation across the cloud face then dramatically enhance the growth rate of Rayleigh-Taylor unstable modes, hastening the cloud disruption.

Stability of zearalenone during extrusion of corn grits

The effects of extrusion cooking on the stability of zearalenone (ZEN) in spiked (4.4 microg/g) food-grade corn grits were investigated using a twin screw extruder. A ground rice culture material containing a high level of ZEN was used to spike the corn grits. The extrusion variables were screw type (mixing and nonmixing), temperature (120, 140, and 160 degrees C), and moisture content (18, 22, and 26%). Both unextruded and extruded samples were analyzed for ZEN by high-performance liquid chromatography. Extrusion cooking of the corn grits resulted in significant reductions of ZEN in grits extruded with either mixing screws or nonmixing screws, but use of mixing screws was somewhat more effective (66 to 83%) overall than nonmixing screws (65 to 77%). Greater reduction of ZEN was observed at either 120 or 140 degrees C than at 160 degrees C. The moisture content of corn grits was not a significant factor affecting reduction of ZEN during extrusion with either mixing or nonmixing screws.

Effect of cycling temperatures on the production of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone by Fusarium graminearum NRRL 5883

The effects of three regimens of cycling incubation temperatures and incubation at constant 25 degrees C on the growth of Fusarium graminearum NRRL 5883 and production of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) on rice were compared. The effects of low-temperature stress were also studied by incubating rice cultures at a constant 15 degrees C for 4 weeks following incubation at constant 25 degrees C for 2 weeks. Both incubation temperature and time significantly (P < or = 0.05) affected growth of F. graminearum NRRL 5883 and production of DON and ZEN. The highest amount of free ergosterol (640 microg/g culture material) that was used as a measure of fungal growth was found in cultures incubated at temperatures cycling between 15 and 30 degrees C during a 6-week period. The highest amounts of DON (1,679 microg/g culture material) and ZEN (603 microg/g culture material) were produced in cultures incubated at a constant 25 degrees C for 2 weeks prior to incubation at a constant 15 degrees C for an additional 4 weeks. Under cycling incubation temperatures, maximum amounts of DON (850 microg/g culture material) and ZEN (98 microg/g culture material) were produced in cultures incubated at temperatures cycling between 15 and 30 degrees C for 6 weeks. Overall, there was no correlation between mold growth and production of either DON or ZEN. However, DON production and ZEN production were correlated.

Fumonisin B1 production by Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium proliferatum as affected by cycling temperatures

The effects of temperatures cycling between 5 and 20 degrees C, 10 and 25 degrees C, and 15 and 30 degrees C on the production of fumonisin B1 (FB1) and ergosterol by Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium proliferatum on rice was studied. Temperatures were cycled at 12-h intervals by manually moving cultures from one temperature to another. Constant temperature incubation at 25 degrees C and a low temperature stress were compared with the cycling temperature incubations. Low temperature stress was achieved by incubating rice cultures at 25 degrees C for 2 weeks followed by 15 degrees C for 4 weeks. The maximum yields of FB1 were found to be 247 microg/g by F. moniliforme at temperatures that cycled between 10 and 25 degrees C after 2 weeks and 284 microg/g by F. proliferatum when the temperatures cycled between 5 and 20 degrees C after 6 weeks. Ergosterol content of the rice cultures was also monitored. Overall, the two Fusarium species showed differences in production of FB1 and ergosterol under the various temperature treatments. The most notable differences were that the temperature treatments that stimulated greatest FB1 production were different for each species: cycling temperatures between 10 and 25 degrees C for F. moniliforme and cycling temperatures between 5 and 25 degrees C for F. proliferatum. At most temperatures, F. proliferatum produced more ergosterol than F. moniliforme. Maximum production of ergosterol by F. proliferatum occurred at 6 weeks, with temperatures that cycled between 10 and 25 degrees C, whereas F. moniliforme produced maximum amounts of ergosterol at 6 weeks, with temperatures that cycled between 15 and 30 degrees C.