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Background: Exposure to antigens is crucial for child immune system development, aiding disease prevention and promoting infant health. Some common food antigen proteins are found in human breast milk. However, it is unclear whether gluten antigens linked to celiac disease (CD) are transmitted through breast milk, potentially impacting the development of the infant's immune system. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the passage of gluten immunogenic peptides (GIP) into human breast milk. We evaluated the dynamics of GIP secretion after lactating mothers adopted a controlled gluten-rich diet. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 96 non-CD and 23 CD lactating mothers, assessing total proteins and casein in breast milk, and GIP levels in breast milk and urine. Subsequently, a longitudinal study was conducted in a subgroup of 12 non-CD lactating mothers who adopted a controlled gluten-rich diet. GIP levels in breast milk and urine samples were assayed by multiple sample collections over 96 hours. Results: Analysis of a single sample revealed that 24% of non-CD lactating mothers on a regular unrestricted diet tested positive for GIP in breast milk, and 90% tested positive in urine, with significantly lower concentrations in breast milk. Nevertheless, on a controlled gluten-rich diet and the collection of multiple samples, GIP were detected in 75% and 100% of non-CD participants in breast milk and urine, respectively. The transfer dynamics in breast milk samples were long-enduring and GIP secretion persisted from 0 to 72 h. In contrast, GIP secretion in urine samples was limited to the first 24 h, with inter-individual variations. In the cohort of CD mothers, 82.6% and 87% tested negative for GIP in breast milk and urine, respectively. Conclusions: This study definitively established the presence of GIP in breast milk, with substantial inter-individual variations in secretion dynamics. Our findings provide insights into distinct GIP kinetics observed in sequentially collected breast milk and urine samples, suggesting differential gluten metabolism patterns depending on the organ or system involved. Future research is essential to understand whether GIP functions as sensitizing or tolerogenic agents in the immune system of breastfed infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Atacama Desert, one of the driest deserts in the world, represents a unique extreme environmental ecosystem to explore the bacterial diversity as it is considered to be at the dry limit for life. A 16S rRNA gene (spanning the hyper variable V3 region) library was constructed from an alkaline sample of unvegetated soil at the hyperarid margin in the Atacama Desert. A total of 244 clone sequences were used for MOTHUR analysis, which revealed 20 unique phylotypes or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). V3 region amplicons of the 16S rRNA were suitable for distinguishing the bacterial community to the genus and specie level. We found that all OTUs were affiliated with taxa representative of the Firmicutes phylum. The extremely high abundance of Firmicutes indicated that most bacteria in the soil were spore-forming survivors. In this study we detected a narrower diversity as compared to other ecological studies performed in other areas of the Atacama Desert. The reported genera were Oceanobacillus (representing the 69.5 % of the clones sequenced), Bacillus, Thalassobacillus and Virgibacillus. The present work shows physical and chemical parameters have a prominent impact on the microbial community structure. It constitutes an example of the communities adapted to live in extreme conditions caused by dryness and metal concentrations . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cereals used for beer manufacturing contain gluten, which is immunotoxic for celiac patients. The gluten remaining after processes of malting and brewing is mostly hydrolyzed, which makes practical evaluation of the immunotoxicity of the gluten pools challenging. RESULTS: We analyzed the presence of gluten peptides equivalent to the major immunotoxic protease-resistant gliadin 33-mer in 100 Belgium beers, using monoclonal antibodies (G12/A1). Immunochromatographic strips and enzyme-linked immonosorbent assay G12/A1 methods estimated at least 20 ppm gluten equivalents in 90 beers and gluten-free in 10 beers. The G12/A1 reactivity of beer high-performance liquid chromatographic fractions correlated to the presence of T-cell-reactive epitopes identified by peptide sequencing. CONCLUSION: The determination of equivalent gliadin 33-mer epitopes in beers has been shown to be practical, specific, and sensitive for the measurement of potential immunotoxicity for celiac patients. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrolases constitute a class of enzymes widely distributed in nature from bacteria to higher eukaryotes. The halotolerance of many enzymes derived from halophilic bacteria can be exploited wherever enzymatic transformations are required to function under physical and chemical conditions, such as in the presence of organic solvents and extremes in temperature and salt content. In recent years, different screening programs have been performed in saline habitats in order to isolate and characterize novel enzymatic activities with different properties to those of conventional enzymes. Several halophilic hydrolases have been described, including amylases, lipases and proteases, and then used for biotechnological applications. Moreover, the discovery of biopolymer-degrading enzymes offers a new solution for the treatment of oilfield waste, where high temperature and salinity are typically found, while providing valuable information about heterotrophic processes in saline environments. In this work, we describe the results obtained in different screening programs specially focused on the diversity of halophiles showing hydrolytic activities in saline and hypersaline habitats, including the description of enzymes with special biochemical properties. The intracellular lipolytic enzyme LipBL, produced by the moderately halophilic bacterium Marinobacter lipolyticus, showed advantages over other lipases, being an enzyme active over a wide range of pH values and temperatures. The immobilized LipBL derivatives obtained and tested in regio- and enantioselective reactions, showed an excellent behavior in the production of free polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). On the other hand, the extremely halophilic bacterium, Salicola marasensis sp. IC10 showing lipase and protease activities, was studied for its ability to produce promising enzymes in terms of its resistance to temperature and salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Extensive use of phenolic compounds in industry has resulted in the generation of saline wastewaters that produce significant environmental contamination; however, little information is available on the degradation of phenolic compounds in saline conditions. Halomonas organivorans G-16.1 (CECT 5995T) is a moderately halophilic bacterium that we isolated in a previous work from saline environments of South Spain by enrichment for growth in different pollutants, including phenolic compounds. PCR amplification with degenerate primers revealed the presence of genes encoding ringcleaving enzymes of the &bgr;-ketoadipate pathway for aromatic catabolism in H. organivoran Findings: The gene cluster catRBCA, involved in catechol degradation, was isolated from H. organivorans. The genes catA, catB, catC and the divergently transcribed catR code for catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (1,2-CTD), cis,cis-muconate cycloisomerase, muconolactone delta-isomerase and a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, respectively. The benzoate catabolic genes (benA and benB) are located flanking the cat genes. The expression of cat and ben genes by phenol and benzoic acid was shown by RT-PCR analysis. The induction of catA gene by phenol and benzoic acid was also probed by the measurement of 1,2-CTD activity in H. organivorans growth in presence of these inducers. 16S rRNA and catA gene-based phylogenies were established among different degrading bacteria showing no phylogenetic correlation between both genes. Conclusions/Significance: In this work, we isolated and determined the sequence of a gene cluster from a moderately halophilic bacterium encoding ortho-pathway genes involved in the catabolic metabolism of phenol and analyzed the gene organization, constituting the first report characterizing catabolic genes involved in the degradation of phenol in moderate halophiles, providing an ideal model system to investigate the potential use of this group of extremophiles in the decontamination of saline environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the differences in margins across exporting and nonexporting firms. We jointly estimate a translog cost function, a variable factor share equation and price-cost margin equations to analyse the effect of persistence in export activity on margins. Results indicate that nonexporters have smaller margins than persistent exporters and firms that entered foreign markets during the nineties. However, larger export ratio is negatively associated with margins for persistent exporters. It suggests that efficiency advantages for exporters are partially compensated by higher competitive pressure in international markets. These results are in accordance with the predictions of Melitz and Ottaviano (2005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the diversity of extreme halophiles able to produce different hydrolytic enzymes (amylase, protease, lipase and DNAse) in hypersaline habitats of South Spain, a screening program was performed. A total of 43 extreme halophiles showing hydrolytic activities have been isolated and characterized. The isolated strains were able to grow optimally in media with 15–20% (w/v) total salts and in most cases, growth was detected up to 30% (w/v) total salts. Most hydrolase producers were assigned to the family Halobacteriaceae, belonging to the genera Halorubrum (22 strains), Haloarcula (nine strains) and Halobacterium (nine strains), and three isolates were characterized as extremely halophilic bacteria (genera Salicola, Salinibacter and Pseudomonas). An extremely halophilic isolate, strain IC10, showing lipase and protease activities and identified as a Salicola strain of potential biotechnological interest, was further studied. The optimum growth conditions for this strain were 15–20% (w/v) NaCl, pH 8.0, and 37 °C. Zymographic analysis of strain IC10 detected the lipolytic activity in the intracellular fraction, showing the highest activity against p-nitrophenyl-butyrate as a substrate in a colorimetric assay, whereas the proteolytic activity was detected in the extracellular fraction. This protease degraded casein, gelatin, bovine serum albumin and egg albumin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethical, legal and even economics arguments urge concerning Universal Access to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Furthermore, economics arguments suggest that the development of inclusive services, products or environments increases the number of potential users. B List of reviewers b Andre Sousa Andreas Holzinger Antonio Pereira April Yorke Barbara Leporini Brian Wentz Frode Eika Sandnes Iosif Klironomos Jaime Muñoz Arteaga Julio Abascal Manuel Pérez-Cota Maryann Demchack P.L. Patrick Rau Ravi Kuber Simeon Keates Sofia Dias Vasileios Charisis Vitor Santos Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

This paper analyzes the influence of exchange rate variations on prices in Foreign and home markets using firm data. The theoretical benchmark, based on the literature of pricing to market, also lakes into account some hypotheses about the effects of demand variations and market power on prices. The empirical analysis for the Spanish economy points out the positive impact of the devaluations of the domestic currency on the relative evolution of prices, though smaller than obtained in previous evidence using aggregated data. The results also suggest a procyclical behavior of prices. which is positively affected by the degree of competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Oat human consumption has increased due to its nutritional value and its health benefits. Oat is a rich source of protein that contains high level of minerals, lipids, β-glucan, a mixed-linkage polysaccharide, which forms an important part of oat dietary fiber, and also contains various other phytoconstituents like flavonoids and sterols among others. Different pharmacological activities have been reported on oats like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic or anticholesterolaemic. The safety of oats in a gluten-free diet has been a topic of debate for several years. Previous studies suggested that oats may induce the immunological response in celiacs and others confirmed the impossibility of consuming oats habitually by its toxicity. Our research group found oat cultivars with different immunotoxic potential against G12 monoclonal antibody that may explain the different clinical responses observed in patients suffering from celiac disease. In this study we have characterized by massive sequencing the transcriptomes of non-toxic and toxic varieties. Materials and Methods: The transcriptomes of both oat varieties were sequenced by Illumina HiSeq™2000. To assemble the contents, criteria of overlap > 40% and similarity > 95% were used. The functional annotations were inferred by similarity to Uniprot reference proteins. The minimum similarity threshold required for annotating a transcript was a BLAST e value minor than 10-10. Uniref90 was used for the selection of annotated proteins. Results: We have found 17 and 11 locus in the non-toxic and toxic varieties, respectively. We selected a set of 239983 reference proteins downloaded from Uniprot belonging to the taxonomic nodes BEP clade. Only proteins representative of Uniref90 clusters were used. The identification of immunotoxic epitopes in the coding sequences were determined by alignment with the T-cell recognized canonicals, encompassing one to three mismatches. We identified a total of 24 epitopes with an average of 2 modifications in the genome of the toxic variety with respect to the non-toxic. The epitope variants DQ2.5-ave-1β and DQ2.5-glia-α3 were the most repeated. Discussion: The presence of epitopes in the toxic oat variety that are not present in non-toxic variety could be related with the immunotoxic potential found in our previous assays and also with the different clinical responses in celiacs consuming oats. Preliminary results suggest that a depth study based on searching epitopes found in toxic oat variety could help to the identification of real oat varieties available for celiac patients, and therefore, their incorporation in improvement programs to obtain commercial lines without toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Oat human consumption has increased due to its nutritional value and its health benefits. Oat is a rich source of protein that contains high level of minerals, lipids, β-glucan, a mixed-linkage polysaccharide, which forms an important part of oat dietary fiber, and also contains various other phytoconstituents like flavonoids and sterols among others. Different pharmacological activities have been reported on oats like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic or anticholesterolaemic. The safety of oats in a gluten-free diet has been a topic of debate for several years. Previous studies suggested that oats may induce the immunological response in celiacs and others confirmed the impossibility of consuming oats habitually by its toxicity. Our research group found oat cultivars with different immunotoxic potential against G12 monoclonal antibody that may explain the different clinical responses observed in patients suffering from celiac disease. In this study we have characterized by massive sequencing the transcriptomes of non-toxic and toxic varieties. Materials and Methods: The transcriptomes of both oat varieties were sequenced by Illumina HiSeq™2000. To assemble the contents, criteria of overlap > 40% and similarity > 95% were used. The functional annotations were inferred by similarity to Uniprot reference proteins. The minimum similarity threshold required for annotating a transcript was a BLAST e value minor than 10-10. Uniref90 was used for the selection of annotated proteins. Results: We have found 17 and 11 locus in the non-toxic and toxic varieties, respectively. We selected a set of 239983 reference proteins downloaded from Uniprot belonging to the taxonomic nodes BEP clade. Only proteins representative of Uniref90 clusters were used. The identification of immunotoxic epitopes in the coding sequences were determined by alignment with the T-cell recognized canonicals, encompassing one to three mismatches. We identified a total of 24 epitopes with an average of 2 modifications in the genome of the toxic variety with respect to the non-toxic. The epitope variants DQ2.5-ave-1β and DQ2.5-glia-α3 were the most repeated. Discussion: The presence of epitopes in the toxic oat variety that are not present in non-toxic variety could be related with the immunotoxic potential found in our previous assays and also with the different clinical responses in celiacs consuming oats. Preliminary results suggest that a depth study based on searching epitopes found in toxic oat variety could help to the identification of real oat varieties available for celiac patients, and therefore, their incorporation in improvement programs to obtain commercial lines without toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]