OBJECTIVE: To compare findings of tests for nut allergy in children. DESIGN: Retrospective survey of a clinical practice protocol. SETTING: Children's hospital paediatric outpatient clinic. SUBJECTS: 96 children referred by general practitioners and accident and emergency doctors over 27 months (1994-96). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Allergic manifestations (generalised urticarial rash, facial swelling, bronchospasm, anaphylactic shock, vomiting on three occasions) related to specific nut IgE concentrations and following touch, skin prick, or oral ingestion of nuts. RESULTS: 16 children from a sample of 51 who were tested for nut allergy had no reaction to an oral challenge. Positive IgE against peanuts was found in nine of these 16 children. CONCLUSIONS: Skin prick testing and IgE measured by radioallergosorbent testing are inadequate tests for nut allergy. The definitive diagnostic test for nut allergy in the hospital setting is direct oral challenge. (+info)
Risk of infection from heavily contaminated air.
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In a factory processing shea nuts the dust concentrations were found to be up to 145 mg/m3 [80% respirable (1--5 micrometer)]. Bacterial examination of the dust revealed that under the worst conditions observed a worker might inhale 350,000 bacteria per 8 h. Of these, 3,000 were Ps. aeruginosa and 1,500 Salmonella spp. of nine different types. The possible health effects of these findings are discussed. (+info)
Nut consumption, vegetarian diets, ischemic heart disease risk, and all-cause mortality: evidence from epidemiologic studies.
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Perhaps one of the most unexpected and novel findings in nutritional epidemiology in the past 5 y has been that nut consumption seems to protect against ischemic heart disease (IHD). Frequency and quantity of nut consumption have been documented to be higher in vegetarian than in nonvegetarian populations. Nuts also constitute an important part of other plant-based diets, such as Mediterranean and Asian diets. In a large, prospective epidemiologic study of Seventh-day Adventists in California, we found that frequency of nut consumption had a substantial and highly significant inverse association with risk of myocardial infarction and death from IHD. The Iowa Women's Health Study also documented an association between nut consumption and decreased risk of IHD. The protective effect of nuts on IHD has been found in men and women and in the elderly. Importantly, nuts have similar associations in both vegetarians and nonvegetarians. The protective effect of nut consumption on IHD is not offset by increased mortality from other causes. Moreover, frequency of nut consumption has been found to be inversely related to all-cause mortality in several population groups such as whites, blacks, and the elderly. Thus, nut consumption may not only offer protection against IHD, but also increase longevity. (+info)
Nuts and their bioactive constituents: effects on serum lipids and other factors that affect disease risk.
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Because nuts have favorable fatty acid and nutrient profiles, there is growing interest in evaluating their role in a heart-healthy diet. Nuts are low in saturated fatty acids and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, emerging evidence indicates that there are other bioactive molecules in nuts that elicit cardioprotective effects. These include plant protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients such as copper and magnesium, plant sterols, and phytochemicals. Few feeding studies have been conducted that have incorporated different nuts into the test diets to determine the effects on plasma lipids and lipoproteins. The total- and lipoprotein-cholesterol responses to these diets are summarized in this article. In addition, the actual cholesterol response was compared with the predicted response derived from the most current predictive equations for blood cholesterol. Results from this comparison showed that when subjects consumed test diets including nuts, there was an approximately 25% greater cholesterol-lowering response than that predicted by the equations. These results suggest that there are non-fatty acid constituents in nuts that have additional cholesterol-lowering effects. Further studies are needed to identify these constituents and establish their relative cholesterol-lowering potency. (+info)
Mapping of a hypovirus p29 protease symptom determinant domain with sequence similarity to potyvirus HC-Pro protease.
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Hypovirus infection of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica results in a spectrum of phenotypic changes that can include alterations in colony morphology and significant reductions in pigmentation, asexual sporulation, and virulence (hypovirulence). Deletion of 88% [Phe(25) to Pro(243)] of the virus-encoded papain-like protease, p29, in the context of an infectious cDNA clone of the prototypic hypovirus CHV1-EP713 (recombinant virus Deltap29) partially relieved virus-mediated suppression of pigmentation and sporulation without altering the level of hypovirulence. We now report mapping of the p29 symptom determinant domain to a region extending from Phe(25) through Gln(73) by a gain-of-function analysis following progressive repair of the Deltap29 deletion mutant. This domain was previously shown to share sequence similarity [including conserved cysteine residues Cys(38), Cys(48), Cys(70), and Cys(72)] with the N-terminal portion of the potyvirus-encoded helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro), a multifunctional protein implicated in aphid-mediated transmission, genome amplification, polyprotein processing, long-distance movement, and suppression of posttranscriptional silencing. Substitution of a glycine residue for either Cys(38) or Cys(48) resulted in no qualitative or quantitative changes in virus-mediated symptoms. Unexpectedly, mutation of Cys(70) resulted in a very severe phenotype that included significantly reduced mycelial growth and profoundly altered colony morphology. In contrast, substitution for Cys(72) resulted in a less severe symptom phenotype approaching that observed for Deltap29. The finding that p29-mediated symptom expression is influenced by two cysteine residues that are conserved in the potyvirus-encoded HC-Pro raises the possibility that these related viral-papain-like proteases function in their respective fungal and plant hosts by impacting ancestrally related regulatory pathways. (+info)
Biotic and abiotic stress can induce cystatin expression in chestnut.
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A cysteine proteinase inhibitor (cystatin) from chestnut (Castanea sativa) seeds, designated CsC, has been previously characterized. Its antifungal, acaricide and inhibitory activities have allowed to involve CsC in defence mechanisms. The CsC transcription levels decreased during seed maturation and increased throughout germination, an opposite behavior to that shown by most phytocystatins. No inhibition of endogenous proteinase activity by purified CsC was found during the seed maturation or germination processes. CsC message accumulation was induced in chestnut leaves after fungal infection, as well as by wounding and jasmonic acid treatment. Induction in roots was also observed by the last two treatments. Furthermore, CsC transcript levels strongly raised, both in roots and leaves, when chestnut plantlets were subjected to cold- and saline-shocks, and also in roots by heat stress. All together, these data suggest that chestnut cystatin is not only involved in defence responses to pests and pathogen invasion, but also in those related to abiotic stress. (+info)
Walnuts lower serum cholesterol in Japanese men and women.
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Recent studies have shown that incorporating moderate quantities of walnuts into the recommended cholesterol-lowering diet in the U.S. decreased serum concentrations of total cholesterol in normal American men. To explore whether walnut consumption would also prove effective as part of the Japanese diet, we studied the effects of walnut consumption on serum lipids and blood pressure in Japanese subjects. We randomly assigned 20 men and 20 women to two mixed natural diets, each to be consumed for 4 wk in a crossover design. Both diets conformed to the average Japanese diet (reference diet) and contained identical foods and macronutrients, except that 12.5% of the energy of the walnut diet was derived from walnuts (43-57 g/d) (offset by lesser amounts of fatty foods, meat and visible fat). Total cholesterol concentration was 0.16 mmol/L lower for men (P = 0.05) and 0.21 mmol/L lower for women (P<0.01) when they consumed the walnut diet than when they consumed the reference diet. The LDL cholesterol concentrations were 0.18 mmol/L lower for men (P = 0.13) and 0.22 mmol/L lower for women (P<0.01) when they consumed the walnut diet. The ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol and the apolipoprotein B concentration were also lowered by the walnut diet (P<0.05). Blood pressures did not differ between the walnut and reference diet periods. Incorporating moderate quantities of walnuts into the average Japanese diet while maintaining the intake of total dietary fat and energy decreases serum total cholesterol concentrations and favorably modifies the lipoprotein profile in Japanese, particularly in women. (+info)
Investigation of the slow inhibition of almond beta-glucosidase and yeast isomaltase by 1-azasugar inhibitors: evidence for the 'direct binding' model.
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(-)-1-Azafagomine [(3R,4R,5R)-4,5-dihydroxy-3-hydroxymethylhexahydropyridazine; inhibitor 1] is a potent glycosidase inhibitor designed to mimic the transition state of a substrate undergoing glycoside cleavage. The inhibition of glycosidases by inhbitor 1 and analogues has been found to be a relatively slow process. This 'slow inhibition' process was investigated in the inhibition of almond beta-glucosidase and yeast isomaltase by inhibitor 1 and analogues. Progress-curve experiments established that the time-dependent inhibition of both enzymes by inhibitor 1 was a consequence of relatively slow dissociation and association of the inhibitor from and to the enzyme, and not a result of slow interchanges between protein conformations. A number of hydrazine-containing analogues of inhibitor 1 also inhibited beta-glucosidase and isomaltase slowly, while the amine isofagomine [(3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidine; inhibitor 5] only inhibited beta-glucosidase slowly. Inhibitor 1 and related inhibitors were found to leave almond beta-glucosidase with almost identical rate constants, so that the difference in K(i) values depended almost entirely on changes in the binding rate constant, k(on). The same trend was observed for the inhibition of yeast isomaltase by inhibitor 1 and a related inhibitor. The values of the rate constants were obtained at 25 degrees C and at pH 6.8. (+info)