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To investigate the effect of dietary oxidized frying oil (OFO) on tissue retention of vitamin C, and to explore the effect of vitamin C supplementation on tissue vitamin E concentrations and lipid peroxidation, male weanling guinea pigs were divided into four groups. Guinea pigs were fed 15% OFO diets supplemented with vitamin C at 300,600 or 1500 mg/kg diet. Control animals were fed a diet containing 15% fresh untreated soybean oil with 300 mg/kg of vitamin C. After 60 d of feeding, body weight gain, food intake, feed efficiency and plasma triglyceride concentration were significantly lower in guinea pigs fed OFO diets than in controls (P < 0.05). However, plasma cholesterol concentration was highest in guinea pigs fed the OFO diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg vitamin C. Increasing vitamin C in OFO diets significantly reduced plasma cholesterol concentration. Plasma and tissue vitamins C and E concentrations were significantly lower in the OFO-fed guinea pigs receiving 300 mg/kg vitamin C than in controls. Greater levels of supplemental vitamin C increased tissue vitamins C and E. Guinea pigs fed OFO diets had significantly higher tissue levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (P < 0.05) than controls. Our results demonstrated that OFO feeding, which impaired [Alpha]-tocopherol retention and increased TBARS, could be alleviated somewhat by vitamin C supplementation. KEY WORDS: oxidized frying oil, vitamin C, vitamin E, guinea pigs, oxidative damage

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) becomes one of the important techniques to characterize the active metal site of crystalline or non-crystalline materials. The x-ray absorption near structure (XANES) of Fe K-edge is often used to monitor the variation of the oxidation states and the local geometric structures in a series of Fe complexes or in situ reactions such as synthetic catalysts and metalloproteins. We provide a detailed interpretation of Fe K-edge XANES features on the mononitrosyl iron complex, [(NO)Fe(S2C6H4)2][PPN], based on the theoretical calculation results of FDM (finite difference method) and TDDFT (time-dependent density functional theory). The pre-edge peak is mainly the transition of 1s(Fe) → 3 dz2(Fe)(mixing with 3 pz(S)). The following rising edge to white line region is related to Fe-S and Fe-N bonding. To apply the results, we have studied the variation of XANES features with systematically changing of Fe-N bond lengths. The increasing of Fe-N bond lengths leads to the XANES feature shifting to lower energy owing to reducing the orbitals overlapped between Fe and N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand knowledge about and general attitudes towards nutrition, dietary restriction attitudes, and dietary restriction behavior in the Taiwanese elderly, and the relationship of these various components to each other. Data from the Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000) were used for analysis and included 1937 elderly persons aged over 65. The results indicated that the elderly had poor nutrition knowledge, especially about the relationship between nutrition and disease. Elderly nutrition attitudes were fair; they tended to disagree with misconceptions about "healthy" or functional foods and also had quite positive general eating attitudes. However, the Taiwanese elderly hold quite strong attitudes influenced by Chinese traditional or food-texture-related dietary restrictions. Elderly people frequently avoid eating foods considered unhealthy by modern medical science (e.g. high fat/cholesterol foods) as well as foods forbidden by Chinese traditional medicine (e.g. "heating" foods, "cooling" foods). Most of the elderly regularly eat three meals a day, however, they seldom pay attention to dietary and nutrition information. The most important sources of nutrition information are offspring or family members, TV, and medical practitioners. In general, elderly men with a higher educational level and living in less remote areas had better nutrition knowledge, held more positive nutrition attitudes, and kept to dietary restrictions less frequently. Elderly people's nutrition knowledge was positively related to their health-care attitudes, general eating attitudes, high- fat or high-cholesterol food restriction behavior, fermented or pickled food restriction behavior, attention to nutrition information, and regularity of meals. However, nutrition knowledge was inversely related to Chinese traditional or food-texture-related dietary restriction behaviors. The results of this study suggest that education of elderly people about nutrition is important, and the design of such nutrition education programs should consider the low educational levels of the elderly. Children or other family members may also be included in the program. The use of TV as a medium for nutrition education of the elderly may also be important for nutrition educators.