Oligo- and polysaccharides are infamous for being extremely flexible molecules, populating a series of well-defined rotational isomeric states under physiological conditions. Characterization of this heterogeneous conformational ensemble has been a major obstacle impeding high-resolution structure determination of carbohydrates and acting as a bottleneck in the effort to understand the relation...

The soaring number of left-behind children (LBC) in China has raised concerns about whether or not they can receive adequate care. This study investigated the impact of parents' migration on LBC's growth. LBC were divided into father-left children (F-LBC) and at least mother left children (M-LBC), both of which were compared with non-left-behind children (non-LBC) in terms of growth indicators....

Previously published data on the mass and concentration of major nutrients in Tasmanian vegetation types are presented in common units. The losses of nutrients in intensely hot wild-fires occurring once or twice a century are calculated and used to estimate losses in more frequent but less intense fires. Potential losses from consumed foliage and litter and from erosion and leaching of ash post...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, is reported to alter oral levels of carotenoids and tocopherols. Such effects may be important because these nutrients, as well as retinoids, are putative chemoprotective agents. OBJECTIVES To determine whether chronic smoking is associated with altered concentrations of these nutrients in serum and buccal mucosa; to ...

By definition a compost is a ‘made mixture’, with manure a common raw material. The aim of composting is to fuel the activity of micro-organisms by providing a source of organic carbon, to transform nutrients from the inorganic to the organic form. “Organic” implies that nutrients are locked up as components of cells. In the process of microbial growth, complex organic compounds are broken down...

Feed represents the greatest single expenditure associated with poultry production. nutritional research in poultry has therefore centred on issues related to identifying barriers to effective digestion and utilization of nutrients, and on approaches for improving feed utilization. Poultry nutritionists have increasingly combined their expertise with that of specialists in other biological scie...

Nutrients are elements or compounds that are essential for the growth and survival of plants. Plants require large amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg), but only small amounts of others such as boron (B), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chlorine (Cl) (micronutrients)...

Antibodies are used extensively for a wide range of basic research and clinical applications. While an abundant and diverse collection of antibodies to protein antigens have been developed, good monoclonal antibodies to carbohydrates are much less common. Moreover, it can be difficult to determine if a particular antibody has the appropriate specificity, which antibody is best suited for a give...