Purpose: To assess the dietary intake and body composition of recreational and competitive female athletes, for the purpose of analyzing the relationships between macronutrient intake and body composition.. The main aim was to determine the relationship between caloric intake, carbohydrate (CHO) intake and protein intake with body fat percentage in active females. Methods: Using an IRB approved protocol, 44 volunteer female recreational and competitive athletes 18 years of age or older were recruited. Interviews were conducted to gather information on within day energy balance by assessing the time and amount of foods/beverages consumed, and the duration and intensity (using a Rating of Perceived Exertion scale) of activity performed on the day of assessment. All analyses were performed using Nutritiming™ (Calorie and Pulse Technologies, Atlanta, GA) to assess energy surpluses, energy deficits, and end of day energy balance. Information on date of birth, race/ethnicity, menstrual status, sleep and wake times, and prior diagnoses of metabolic disease and/or eating disorders were collected at the time of the interview. Height was assessed using a standard stadiometer. Weight and body composition were assessed via Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) using InBody 230 (BioSpace Co. USA). The BIA assessment was performed to determine body fat percentage, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Body Mass Index (BMI), segmental body composition, and fat and lean mass in kilograms. Nutrient data were derived using an interviewer-led, 24-hour recall. Results: CHO intake/kg total mass was significantly and inversely correlated with body fat percentage and BMI, (p=0.018 and p=0.001 respectively). Protein intake/kg total mass was also inversely and significantly correlated with body fat percentage (p=0.006). Fat intake was not significantly associated with BMI, body fat percent, or lean mass in kilograms. Total energy intake/kg total mass was inversely associated with BMI (p=0.001), with fat mass (p=0.001), and with body fat percentage, (p=0.001). CHO intake/kg total mass was positively associated with the total number of hours spent in an anabolic (i.e., EB>0) state (p=0.001), and was inversely associated with the total number of hours spent in a catabolic (i.e., EB < 0) state (p=0.001). CHO intake/kg total mass was the only substrate to be significantly correlated with the number of hours spent ± 400 kcal EB over a 24 hour period (p=0.001). Z-scores were created to establish categories of body composition and energy balance values. Utilizing Chi-Square tests, it was determined that more hours spent in an energy surplus (> 400kcal) was associated with higher body fat percent (p=0.042). Conclusions: CHO restriction, whether done intentionally or as a function of an energy restrictive intake, was commonly observed in this subject pool. Of the females surveyed, 79% did not meet their daily energy needs and, on average, consumed 49% of the recommended daily intake of CHO established for active people. The findings that subjects with lower CHO intakes had higher body fat levels, and that CHO was associated with improved maintenance of energy balance, which was also associated with lower body fat percent, suggest that physically active women should not restrict CHO to achieve a desired body composition. It was also observed that end-of-day energy balance was not associated with either energy substrate consumption or body composition.

In 1957 Vroom presented an article that dealt with the kinetics of the sulphate cook. He showed that the lignin dissolution exhibited a temperature/time dependency that could be explained by the Arrhenius equation and that the reaction was of first order with respect to lignin. However, even before Vroom introduced the H-factor all wood components were assumed to react according to a first order reaction. In recent years progresses in this area have been made. Lignin for example is nowadays considered to dissolve during three parallel first order reactions, all with differences in activation energies. When the kinetics are evaluated, several cooking series at different temperatures and concentrations of active cooking chemicals are needed. The data points obtained are then fitted into some equation. If the concentration of the active cooking chemicals is constant, the activation energies and the chemical dependency for the dissolution of wood components can easily be found. In order to simplify the evaluations of the kinetics, very high liquor-to-wood ratios are sometimes used, often as high as 50:1 or even 75:1. In this manner, the chemical concentrations are almost constant during the cook. The problem is that in the normal industrial cook where the liquor-to-wood ratio is about 4:1, the chemical concentration is not constant. This is due mostly to the alkali consumption that takes place in the cook for example when neutralising the acidic groups in the hemicelluloses. A disadvantage with high liquor-to-wood ratios is the high dilution of the dissolved organic matter. A high concentration of dissolved lignin boosts the dissolution of the remaining lignin in the wood residue and xylan can redeposit on the fibres when its concentration in the cooking liquor is high. The aim of this project was to describe how different liquor-to-wood ratios influence the kinetics during sulphate cooking of spruce.

The principle objective of this investigation was to develop an understanding of the biochemical and physiological response of free-ranging adult polar bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) to prolonged fasting. A body condition index was developed from two measures, total body mass and straight-line body length, and was used as a covariate in the analyses of all other data. Protein and amino acid catabolism and urea synthesis were significantly lower in fasting bears when compared to feeding bears, and in fat bears when compared to lean bears. The inference from these results is that the energy metabolism in both states (fasting and fat) is one in which lipid is the predominant fuel for energy and nitrogen is conserved. Nutritional state (feeding versus fasting) had no significant effect on the plasma concentrations of non-esterified fatty acid, glycerol, and ketone bodies, or on the plasma ratio of acyl-carnitine to free carnitine. Furthermore, acetoacetate concentration was below the level of detection (<196 [mu]mol/L) in all bears, and â-hydroxybutyrate concentration never exceeded 291 [mu]mol/L. These results suggest polar bears are able to regulate closely the synthesis, release, and use of lipid metabolites without significant alteration in their plasma concentrations. Fasting polar bears showed no evidence of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency; the proportions of the diet-derived EFA linoleic (18:2[omega]6) and á-linolenic (18:3[omega]3) acids in the plasma and adipose tissue of fasting polar bears were greater than that in feeding polar bears. Plasma triiodothyronine concentrations and rectal temperatures were lower in fasting bears captured during summer-fall than in feeding bears, which suggests metabolic rates were decreased during fasting to conserve body fuels. Liver glycogen concentrations were found to be higher in fasting polar bears than in feeding bears. Furthermore, the results from intravenous administration of glucose (glucose tolerance test) to polar bears indicated the rates of insulin secretion and clearance in polar bears were slow relative to rates reported for other mammals. The inference from these results is that polar bears are not as dependent on glucose for energy as are other mammals and, as a consequence, are more lax in regulating their body glucose stores.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ingesting an 8% carbohydrate (CHO) beverage during a moderate intensity exercise trial on performance outcomes, fuel utilization and blood glucose levels of wheelchair athletes (spinal cord injury (SC I) or cerebral palsy (CP)). The secondary purpose was to analyze the dietary intake of the eight participants and to determine if they were meeting current sport nutrition guidelines for macronutrients and fluids recommended in the joint position statement developed by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Dietitians of Canada (DC).<p> Under random, double blind conditions eight athletes (6 males, 2 females); mean age 36 ± 8.5 y with a SCI (n = 7) or CP (n = 1) completed two exercise trials on an adapted stationary hand cycle; each trial was 60 minutes in duration at 65 % VO2peak followed immediately by a 30-minute performance trial. During the first 60-minutes the participants were given four 200 ml dosages (15, 30, 45, 60-min) of an 8% CHO beverage or a taste-matched placebo beverage. Blood lactate and glucose levels were sampled during the 60-minute exercise trial (pre, 20, 40, 60-min) and immediately after the 30-minute performance trial (post, 2, 5, 10-min). Heart rate was monitored continuously during the exercise and performance trial. Expired gas samples were also taken for 5-min periods during the exercise trial and then continuously during the performance trial. These values were used to calculate respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and carbohydrate oxidation. Dietary intake was assessed with a three day food record.<p> No significant differences were apparent between beverage trials for total distance (km), average speed (kmhr-1) or maximum speed achieved (kmhr-1). Significant differences were evident for blood glucose values, RER and CHO oxidation between the two beverage trials (p< .05). At the end of the 30-minute performance trial blood glucose values were significantly higher in the CHO trial (4.8 ± 1.3 mmol.l-1 vs. 4.0 ± 0.5 mmol.l-1 for placebo trial; p< .05). The CHO beverage resulted in higher CHO oxidation during the last 5 minutes of the performance trial, 2.1 ± 1.0 gmin-1 vs. the placebo beverage 1.9 ± 1.0 gmin-1 (p< .05). The CHO beverage trial resulted in significantly higher RER values during the final 5 minutes of the exercise trial and during the final 10 minutes of the performance trial. At the 20-25 minute mark RER values were significantly higher with the CHO beverage trial (1.04 ± 0.10) vs. the placebo trial (1.01 ± 0.11) (p< .05). During the final 5 minutes of the performance trial RER values were also significantly higher with the CHO beverage trial (1.06 ± 0.11) vs. the placebo trial (1.01 ± 0.10) (p< .05). The results indicated the participants were not meeting the current dietary guidelines for able-bodied athletes and active adults. Only 25% of the participants met the daily caloric requirements for active adults. Carbohydrate recommendations of 6 to 10 gkg-1 body weightd -1 were not met by any of the wheelchair athletes Seven participants were within the acceptable macronutrient range (AMDR) for CHO. For protein intake, 63% of the participants were meeting the protein recommendations active adults and all of them were within the AMDR. Average caloric intake from fat exceeded current recommendations of 20 to 25%; two participants were above the AMDR. The results demonstrate that the 8% CHO beverage consumed during exercise resulted in higher CHO oxidation rates and elevated blood glucose values, but it did not result in a performance gain.

No description available.

Diorhabda elongata elongata leaf beetles were released at two field locations in the upper Colorado River watershed of Texas in 2003 and 2004 for the biological control of invasive Tamarix, exotic trees deteriorating riparian ecosystems of western North America. Establishment and biological success were monitored using trees on transects from the release points. D. elongata elongata released at the Lake Thomas site in August 2003 successfully overwintered and were recovered in the spring 2004; however, beetles were not present after June 2004. The April 2004 release at Beals Creek led to establishment and survival during 2005 and 2006. Mean abundance increased from less than five insects per tree per 2 minute count in August 2004 to more than 40 insects per tree per 2 minute count in August 2006. By then the population was dispersed throughout an area of approximately 12 hectares and beetles were present on 100% of the 47 trees surveyed, 57% of which were at least 90% defoliated. To measure the impact of beetle defoliation on Tamarix, nonstructural carbohydrates (NCHOs) were measured in manipulative field cage experiments in Texas and natural experiments in Nevada. There was no significant difference in NCHOs between trees with versus trees without beetle herbivory in the cage experiment, although spring foliage regrowth was reduced by 35% in trees defoliated the previous fall. In Nevada, root crown tissue was sampled in 2005 and 2006 from trees that had experienced 0-4 years of defoliation. In 2005, NCHO concentrations differed between tree stands and ranged from 9.0 ± 0.8% (Mean ± SE) in non-defoliated trees to 3.2 ± 0.4%, 2.1 ± 0.4% and 2.3 ± 0.4% in trees defoliated for 1, 2 and 3 successive years, respectively. NCHO concentrations in 2006 were similar, ranging from 13.6 ± 0.9% in non-defoliated trees to 7.6 ± 0.8%, 2.3 ± 0.4%, 1.5 ± 0.3% and 1.7 ± 0.4% in trees defoliated for 1, 2, 3 and 4 years, respectively. The establishment, biological success and host impact of D. elongata leaf beetles suggest there is potential for biological control of Tamarix in the United States.

The field of ecological stoichiometry has been dominated by studies focusing on aquatic & benthic microinvertabrates with less attention given to herbivorous insects. These organisms rely on their food source(s) to supply all of the building blocks (elements) they need in order to complete their life cycle. Since insect herbivores do not have the same elemental composition as the plants they use for food the question arises; of how they go about building themselves. We investigated what happened when grasshoppers were fed diets with various macronutrient profiles, their total amounts, and when the protein quality varied. We discovered that under controlled conditions when using a high quality protein source that grasshoppers are able to maintain a strict level of elemental homeostasis, but that the elements directly related to manipulations made in the food seem to vary (carbon, which is associated with carbohydrates and nitrogen, associated with protein). We also discovered that when the quality of protein changes an immature grasshoppers elemental stoichiometry loses some of this strict homeostatic regulation.

Starting with the structure analysis of ConA in the 70s, the crystal structures of hundreds of different lectins and their carbohydrate complexes have been determined. Lectins, multivalent carbohydrate-binding proteins which specifically bind different sugar structures, have received considerable attention in recent times on account of the realization of the importance of protein−sugar interactions, especially at the cell surface, in biological recognition. They occur in plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and viruses. Plant lectins constitute about 40% of the lectins of known structure. They can be classified into five structural groups, each characterized by a specific fold. Among them, legume lectins constitute the most extensively investigated group. Peanut lectin is a legume lectin which has been studied thoroughly in this laboratory. These studies have provided a wealth of structural and functional information. However, some gaps still exist in our understanding of the structure, interactions and multivalency of peanut lectin. The work presented here addresses these gaps. The hanging drop method was used for crystallizing PNA and its complexes. Intensity data were collected on Mar Research imaging plates mounted on Rigaku RU-200 or ULTRAX-18 X-ray generators. The Oxford cryosystem was used when collecting data at low temperature. The data were processed using DENZO and SCALEPACK of HKL suite of programs. The structure factors from the processed data were calculated using TRUCATE of CCP4 suite of programs. The molecular replacement program AMoRe was used for structure solutions. Structure refinements were carried out using the CNS software package and REFMAC of CCP4. Model building was done using the molecular graphics program FRODO. INSIGHT II, ALIGN, CONTACT and PROCHECK of CCP4 were used for the analysis and validation of the refined structure. Dynamic light scattering experiments were carried out using a Dyanpro Molecular Sizing Instrument, and the collected data were analyzed using Dynamic V6 software. Until recently, it has been possible to grow crystals of peanut lectin only when complexed with sugar ligands. It has now been possible to grow them at acidic pH in the presence of oligopeptides corresponding to a loop in the lectin molecule. Crystals have also been prepared in the presence of the peptides as well as lactose. Low pH crystal forms of the lectin−lactose complex similar to those obtained at neutral pH could also been grown. Thus, crystals of peanut lectin grown in different environmental conditions, at two pHs with and without sugars bound to the lectin, are now available. They have been used to explore the plasticity and hydration of the molecule. A detailed comparison among different structures shows that the lectin molecule is sturdy and the effect of changes in pH, ligand-binding and environment on it is small. The region involving the curved front β-sheet and loops around the second hydrophobic core is comparatively rigid. The back β-sheet involved in quaternary association, which exhibits considerable variability, is substantially flexible. So is the sugar-binding region. The numbers of invariant water molecules in the hydration shell are small and they are mainly involved in metal coordination or in stabilizing rare structural features. Small, consistent movements occur in the combining site on sugar-binding, although the site is essentially preformed. Crystal structures of peanut lectin complexed with Galβ1-3Gal, methyl-T-antigen, Galβ1-6GalNAc, Galα1-3Gal and Galα1-6Glc and that of a crystal grown in the presence of Galα1-3Galβ1-4Gal have been determined using data collected at 100 K. Use of water bridges as a strategy for generating carbohydrate specificity was earlier deduced from the complexes of the lectin with lactose (Galβ1-4Glc) and T-antigen (Galβ1- 3GalNAc). This has been confirmed through the analysis of the complexes with Galβ1-3Gal and methyl-T-antigen (Galβ1-3GalNAc-α-OMe). A detailed analysis of lectin−sugar interactions in the complexes shows that they are more extensive when β-anomer is involved in the linkage. As expected, the second sugar residue is ill defined when the linkage is 1-6. There are more than two-dozen water molecules, which occur in the hydration shells of all structures determined at resolutions better than 2.5 Å. Most of them are involved in stabilizing the structure, particularly loops. Water molecules involved in lectin−sugar interactions are also substantially conserved. The lectin molecule is robust and does not appear to be affected by change in temperature. Multivalency is believed to be important in the activity of lectins, although definitive structural studies on it have been few and far between. A study has been carried out on the complexation of tetravalent peanut lectin with a synthetic compound containing two terminal lactose moieties, using a combination of crystallography, dynamic light scattering and modelling. Light scattering indicates the formation of an apparent dimeric species and also larger aggregates of the tetrameric lectin in the presence of the bivalent ligand. The crystals of presumably crosslinked lectin molecules could be obtained. They diffract very poorly, but the X-ray data from them are good enough to define the positions of the lectin molecules. Extensive modelling on possible crosslinking modes of protein molecules by the ligand indicated that systematic crosslinking could lead to crystalline arrays. The studies also provided a rationale for the crosslinking in the observed crystal structure. The results obtained provide further insights into the general problem of multivalency in lectins. They indicate that crosslinking involving multivalent lectins and multivalent carbohydrates is likely to lead to an ensemble of a finite number of distinct periodic arrays rather than a unique array. PNA is among the most thoroughly studied lectins. Its structure demonstrated that open structures without point group symmetry cannot be ruled out for oligomeric proteins. It also contributed to the identification of legume lectins as a family of proteins in which small alterations in essentially the same tertiary structure lead to large changes in the quaternary association. Among other things, studies on PNA−sugar complexes led to the identification of water bridges as a strategy for generating carbohydrate specificity in addition to providing detailed information on PNA−sugar interactions. The work reported here significantly added to the information on this important lectin provided by earlier studies. On the basis of a detailed examination of structures of crystals grown under different environmental conditions, the relatively rigid and flexible regions of the molecule could be delineated. The picture that emerges is that of a robust protein with a substantially preformed combining site. The work also added to the information on the dependence of protein−sugar interactions on the different glycosidic linkages in disaccharides. The investigations reported here also provided further insights into the multivalency of peanut lectin.

<p>Renewable fibers produced by forest trees provide excellentraw material of high economic value for industrialapplications. Despite this, the genes and corresponding enzymesinvolved in wood fiber biosynthesis in trees are poorlycharacterized. This thesis describes a functional genomicsapproach for the identification of carbohydrate-active enzymesinvolved in secondary cell wall (wood) formation in hybridaspen.</p><p>First, a 3' target amplification method was developed toenable microarray-based gene expression analysis on minuteamounts of RNA. The amplification method was evaluated usingboth a smaller microarray containing 192 cDNA clones and alarger microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones that werehybridized with targets isolated from xylem and phloem.Moreover, a gene expression study of phloem differentiation wasperformed to show the usefulness of the amplificationmethod.</p><p>A microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones representing aunigene set of a cambial region EST library was used to studygene expression during wood formation. Transcript populationsfrom thin tissue sections representing different stages ofxylem development were hybridized onto the microarrays. It wasdemonstrated that genes encoding lignin and cellulosebiosynthetic enzymes, as well as a number of genes withoutassigned function, were differentially expressed across thedevelopmental gradient.</p><p>Microarrays were also used to track changes in geneexpression in the developing xylem of transgenic, GA-20 oxidaseoverexpressing hybrid aspens that had increased secondarygrowth. The study revealed that a number of genes encoding cellwall related enzymes were upregulated in the transgenic trees.Moreover, most genes with high transcript changes could beassigned a role in the early events of xylogenesis.</p><p>Ten genes encoding putative cellulose synthases (CesAs) wereidentified in our own<i>Populus</i>ESTdatabase. Full length cDNA sequences wereobtained for five of them. Expression analyses performed withreal-time PCR and microarrays in normal wood undergoingxylogenesis and in tension wood revealed xylem specificexpression of four putative CesA isoenzymes.</p><p>Finally, an approach combining expressionprofiling,bioinformatics as well as EST and full length sequencing wasadopted to identify secondary cell wall related genes encodingcarbohydrate-active enzymes, such as glycosyltransferases andglycoside hydrolases. As expected, glycosyltransferasesinvolved in the carbohydrate biosynthesis dominated thecollection of the secondary cell wall related enzymes that wereidentified.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>Populus, xylogenesis, secondary cell wall,cellulose, hemicellulose, microarrays, transcript profiling,carbohydrate-active enzyme, glycosyltransferase, glycosidehydrolase</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-89). Also available on the Internet.