NADPH

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

    Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, is abbreviated as NADP⁺ . It is a cofactor used in anabolic reactions, such as lipid and nucleic acid synthesis, which require NADPH as a reducing agent (http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)

     NADP is oxidized and NADPH is reduced.

Nadp
Formula: C₂₁H₂₉N₇O

Nadph
Formula:C₂₁H₂₉N₇O₁₇P₃

Let's take a look at each component.

Nicotinamide- 
also known as niacinamide, is a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid.
C ₆ H ₆ N ₂ O
, is the amide of nicotinic acid, and a component of the vitamin-B complex,found in meat, liver, fish, whole wheat, and eggs.  It is a primary amide. This chemical is not related to nicotine.

Adenine- 
a compound that is one of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids. Adenine is a purine derivative. It is paired with thymine in double-stranded DNA.

Dinucleotide- 
a nucleotide is a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural units of nucleic acids such as DNA. The prefix "di-" means the nucleotide consists of two units.  Each unit is composed of a phosphate, a pentose, and a purine or pyrimidine base.

Phosphate- A salt of phosphoric acid (http://www.chemspider.com/).

The Biology of NADPH-

     Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate acts as a reducing agent in certain anabolic reactions.  NADPH is the reduced form of NADP⁺.  It is a coenzyme.  NADP⁺ has an additional phosphate on the 2' position of the ribose ring, attached to the adenine. NADPH forms when NADP⁺ molecules gain an electron from hydrogen.

     NADP + H¹-> NADPH

     It is an electron carrier in a number of reactions, including lipid synthesis, cholesterol synthesis, fatty acid chain elongation, and nucleic acid synthesis. The electron carrier is alternately oxidized (NADP-) and reduced (NADPH).

Chemical name-
adenosine 5'-(trihydrogen diphosphate), 2'-(dihydrogen phosphate), P'-5'-ester with 3-(aminocarbonyl)-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyridinium, inner salt.

Why this chemical is important?

     In plants, NADPH is present during photosynthesis.  NADPH is produced by ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase  in the last step of the electron chain of the light reactions.

     It is also used as reducing power for the biosynthetic reactions in the Calvin Cycle to assimilate carbon dioxide.

     In animals, NADPH is abundant during the pentose phosphate pathway.

     In fat, and liver, the isocitrate dehydrogenase mechanism has vast quantities of NADPH.

     In mitochondria, NADH kinase produces NADPH and ADP, using NADH and ATP as substrates.

     NADPH provides the reducing equivalents for biosynthetic reactions and the oxidation-reduction involved in protecting against the toxicity of ROS (reactive oxygen species), allowing the regeneration of GSH (reduced glutathione).

     The NADPH system generates free radicals in immune cells. These radicals are used to destroy pathogens in a process termed the respiratory burst. It is the source of reducing equivalents for cytochrome P450 hydroxylation of aromatic compounds, steroids, alcohols, and drugs.

NADPH

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

The Mosquito-borne Zika Virus

     Have you heard of the Aedes mosquito?

     It carries the Zika virus.

     In the passed few weeks the Zika virus has been in quite a few headlines. The virus is intruding on our well being.  How is it intruding, though?

     Let's take a look at the situation.

     The Zika virus causes illness.  Most often, the illness isn't outstanding.  The symptoms that accompany the virus only proliferate for approximately a week.  The most susceptible individuals are unborn fetuses.  

     Symptoms:

fever

rash

joint pain

red eyes

     Currently, a vaccine doesn't exist for the Zika virus.

     “Treatment instead focuses on relieving symptoms and includes rest, rehydration, and medications for fever and pain (https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&ei=yESzVqOwFsKs-AG9qJmYDA&q=virus+zika&oq=virus&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.0.0i131l2j0i3j0j0i3.26343.34714.0.36451.10.7.3.1.1.0.328.1393.0j4j2j1.7.0....0...1c.1j4.64.mobile-gws-hp..0.8.916.0.TD24ROd1SLA).”

     The W.H.O. (world health organization) reported that on 1/7/2016, the mosquito-borne, Zika represents an international public health emergency.

    
     “There is an urgent need to do a lot more work,” said Margaret Chan, MD, director-general of the WHO. “We need a coordinated international response to make sure we get to the bottom of this.” -(http://www.who.int/en/)

     

     If the W.H. Organization report doesn't grab your attention, then perhaps some of the other current headlines will.

     Additional Zika virus news:
   
“As Zika Virus Spreads, Doctors Try to Calm Fears”

“Emergency Declared Over Birth Defects Tied to Zika”

“Tiny but Dangerous: The Mosquitoes Spreading Zika”

-(http://www.who.int/en/)

     Research has linked the virus to an already well established disease in children, microencephaly.
Microencaphly causes fetal brain damage resulting in a stillbirth.

    “Officials in Dallas County, TX, reported Feb. 2, 2016, that one person caught Zika through sexual activity. (http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20160107/zika-virus-what-you-should-know)

     Quick Zika virus facts:

     1.  3 million to 4 million people could possibly be infected with the virus this year in the Americas.

     2.  Zika virus, first identified in Uganda in 1947, is transmitted by a mosquito that may also carry dengue fever, yellow fever, and the chikungunya virus.  It is also passed via std, and blood transfusion.

     3.  It causes fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

     4.  Treat it with over-the-counter medications for aches and pains. The disease usually runs its course within a week.

     5.  The CDC stated, Jan. 15, that it tested samples provided by Brazilian health authorities from two pregnancies that ended in miscarriage and two infants with microcephaly who died shortly after birth. In the two full-term infants, the Zika virus was present in the brain. In all four cases, genetic testing showed the virus was the same as the Zika strain circulating in Brazil. All four mothers reported having a fever and a rash consistent with Zika virus during their pregnancies, the CDC says.

     6.  CDC Travel Warning- Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

     7.  If you're pregnant, and you've traveled to those areas, then, consult with your doctor.

     8.  Aedes mosquitoes, Zika carriers, are from North, Central, and South America.

     9.  Travel plans- bring mosquito repellant. These mosquitos bite during the day.  They are day time feeders.

     Stay away from mosquito infested areas.  Researches haven't established a complete pathway of the Zika virus.

     In current news,

     “The health department of Campinas, an industrial city near Sao Paulo, said a man with gunshot wounds became infected with Zika after multiple blood transfusions in April 2015. Officials said they determined that one of the people whose donated blood was used in the transfusion had been infected with Zika.”

“Also causing concern is the possibility of transmission through sexual contact. Health officials in Texas reported on Tuesday that a person in Dallas became infected after having sex with another person who had traveled in Venezuela, where the virus is circulating.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brazil-confirms-zika-infection-from-a-blood-transfusion/

     The Zika virus causes illness.  Most often, the illness isn't outstanding.  The symptoms that accompany the virus only proliferate for approximately a week.  The most susceptible individuals are unborn fetuses.  It can severely affect adults, too.

Business Management: In control.

What is a successful business without control?

     “Control is the regulation of organizational activities so that some targeted element of performance remains within acceptable limits. Control provides ways to adapt to environmental change, to limit the accumulation of errors, to cope with organizational complexity, and to minimize costs (http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/researchcenter/students/index.html)."

     Management control can have a variety of elements.  Control can be targeted toward financial aspects, physical, informational, and human resources.  Proper guidance is the function of managers, controllers, and operating employees.  We must all participate.  The steps have to be precise. 

(1) substantiate standards of future performance

(2) gauge actual performance

(3) assimilate performance to the standards

(4) appraise performance and take appropriate action.

     Directions establish limits.  There are different types.  Operations control focuses on the processes the organization uses to transform resources into products or services. Preliminary control is concerned with the resources that serve as inputs to the system. Screening control is concerned with the transformation processes used by the organization. Post action control is concerned with the outputs of the organization. Most organizations need multiple control systems because no one system alone can provide adequate control.  Financial control focuses on controlling the organization's financial resources.  Structural control addresses how well an organization's structural elements serve their intended purpose.  Strategic control focuses on how effectively the organization's strategies are succeeding in helping the organization meet its goals.

     Control maintenance should include being flexible, accurate, timely, and as objective as possible. Employees may resist organizational controls because of over control, inappropriate focus, rewards for inefficiency, and a desire to avoid accountability.

    “It is difficult for organizations to avoid change as new ideas promote growth for them and their members. Change occurs for many reasons such as new staff roles; increases or decreases in funding; acquisition of new technology; new missions, vision or goals; and to reach new members or clients. Changes can create new opportunities, but are often met with criticism from resistant individuals within the group (http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/researchcenter/students/index.html).”

     If management needs to be reinvigorated, there is always the right time and place.  Should a new management team strategy be implemented?

     There are risks involved in introducing new management to a company.  It is a risk for both the new management team and the existing employees.  Workers wonder about new rules and procedures.

     FAQs include: will the new policy fit the expectations of the new managers, and will management bring in new employees to replace anyone who doesn't fit?

     There is always a degree of resistance to control changes.

     “… Resistance is more a function of inadequate preparation than actual employee reluctance to cooperate (http://work.chron.com/overcoming-resistance-new-management-5910.html).”

     Resistance can be managed.

     Employees respect the need for control.  It is understood that in order to achieve organizational objectives policy must be effective.  Standards of performance must be met. 

     Control change begins with the workplace attitude.  Positive and negative conditioning from management directly reflects physical, financial, and human resource objectives.  Directions can change workers attitudes towards controls from negative to positive.

     Guidance shouldn’t be completely dominant, but realistic.  Guidance shouldn’t be too light, or seemingly inadequate.  Excessive guidance is defined as under-control and over-control.  Neither of these are affective organizational goals.  Management must undergo constant maintenance in order to optimize workers performance.

If a management overhaul is called to order then proper implementation will follow these steps:

-Define output goals for the new management staff.

-Present the new management team to the employees along with their new goals.

-Bestow the overview of the employees’ expected roles to move toward success.

     Company control evaluations will always require updates.  When you update your evaluation process you should aim towards improvement of behavior.  Intelligent introductions of a new management team are important, but team leadership is what makes the change successful.

-Concentrate on end results and outcomes of activities.  This is the alternative to focusing on the way these results are achieved.

-Flexibility of controls may not always get desired results from workers, though. Standards should be subject to change, because faulty standards can cause deviation in performance.

-Ensure that employees participate in designing the control system.  Participation helps employees develop a better understanding of the standards and self-assess their own performance. Self-control is excellent control.

-When the situation allows, managers should reward employees demonstrating acceptable performance. Positive reinforcement motivates other workers to achieve the standard performance.

-When hard workers try to achieve their targets, some amount of deviation in their performance may occur, regardless. Deviations of =5%, for example, may be ignored by managers. The percentage of deviation depends on the nature of product.  Don’t misuse your favorite employees.  Resistance can be controlled.

     Managers can overcome this resistance by improving the effectiveness of controls, allowing employee participation, and developing verification procedures.  What is a successful business without delegating responsibilities to able individuals?

Meat increases Cancer Risk?

       Welcome to dieting. 

     Are you thinking:

     “I eat meat all of the time, especially grilled.  Wasn’t grilled chicken supposed to be the ultimate health food?”

     Let’s delve into cooking food at high temperatures, and grilling food.  Research shows that cancer will result from Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs), and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).

     (HCAs) and (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, is cooked using high-temperatures.  High-temperature cooking includes:

• pan frying

• grilling

• any open flame exposure

• above 300 degrees Farenheit

     Laboratory experiments proved these chemicals mutagenic, they cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer.

• HCAs:

     HCAs are formed when amino acids, sugars, and creatine react at high temperatures.  Heterocyclic amines are formed containing one or more closed rings of carbon and nitrogen.  HCAs are not found in significant amounts in foods other than meat cooked at high temperatures.

 “A number of other food constituents are involved in the formation of HCAs. Antioxidants, ascorbic acid, butylhydroxyanisol, and certain concentrations of mixtures of tocopherols show an inhibitory action, likewise for the inhibitors of nonenzymic browning. Sodium bisulfite for example, totally inhibits the formation of HCAs in canned foods when added at the level of 0.5%. Butylhydroxytoluene, on the other hand, promotes the formation of HCAs of the quinoxaline type. In beef grilled in the presence of soya protein, chlorogenic acid, or cotton grain flour, a reduced mutagenic activity is seen. The inhibitory effect of the soya proteins might be related to the presence of phenolic compounds, or to its water binding capacity, leading to a higher water content in the cooked product with less transport of the precursors to the surface. Certain phenolic compounds more or less complex (tannic acid, quercetol, rutin, catechin, and propyl gallate) seem to reduce mutagenic formations during albumine pyrolysis. Recently, Weisburger research showed that tea polyphenols may represent another approach to lower HCA formation. In addition, flavones reduce the formation of mutagenic agents. This property may be explained by the reduced formation of certain products of the Maillard reaction that are precursors of HA formation. Flavones or flavonols that contain C5, C7 and C4' hydroxyl groups are potent inhibitors of P-450 enzyme activities induced by Aroclor 1254 (P450IA1 and P450IA2), and may potentially be useful as chemopreventive agents against HCA-induced mutagenesis or carcinogenesis. Other products of the Maillard reaction are inhibitors of HCA formation. The possible mechanisms of the antimutagenic effect of Maillard reaction products prepared from xylose and lysine to IQ has been suggested to be due to the interaction of this Maillard product with proximate metabolites of IQ to form inactive adducts and not to inhibit the activity of hepatic microsomal enzymes, direct reaction with intact IQ or interaction with DNA. The presence of iron increases the formation of mutagenic agents, and this increase is opposed by the addition of a chelating agent, EDTA (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1469314/pdf/envhper00334-0048).”

•  PAHs:

     PAHs are formed when fatty juices drip onto the fire, causing flames. These flames contain PAHs that then adhere to the surface of the meat. PAHs can also be formed during other food preparation processes, such as smoking of meats.  PAHs can be found in other charred foods, as well as in cigarette smoke and car exhaust fumes. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons contain multiple carbon rings.

(http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer.”

 “PAHs themselves are relatively non-reactive chemicals toward biological macromolecules under physiological conditions. Rather, they require metabolic activation in order to exert genotoxicity, including mutagenicity and tumorigenicity. Upon entering the body, the cellular defense system attempts to “remove” these foreign substances by metabolism. PAH metabolism in a mammalian system is principally in the liver and is catalyzed mainly by the cytochrome P450 enzymes. Other metabolizing enzymes are also involved. Upon metabolism, PAHs become more polar and water-soluble to be excreted out of the body, thus completing the removal or the biological “detoxification” process. However, metabolism of some PAHs also generates reactive intermediates that are capable of forming covalent adducts with nucleic acids, leading to genotoxicity (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3812823/).”

      Well done, grilled, or barbecued chicken and steak all have high concentrations of HCAs. Cooking methods that expose meat to smoke or charring contribute to PAH formation.

     How to grill healthier:

So, grilling meat, poultry and fish creates these carcinogens.  Protect yourself.  How:

-Use lean cuts of meat- there will be less fat to drip onto the hot grill.

-Fish and chicken also have lower levels of the amino acids that lead to HCA production.

-Remove the skin from chicken.

-Reduce the high heat cooking duration.

-Fish requires less high heat than steak- there's less time for the compounds to form and adhere to your meal.

-Limit exposure to the high heat on the grill.

-Precook meat in the microwave or oven- less grilling time.

-Check the heat temperatures- these carcinogens become toxic at 300 – 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

-Scrape off the charring.

-Dispose of the charred trimmings that fell off.

-Clean the grill thoroughly- Put the dirty rack into a plastic garbage bag. Add water and dishwashing liquid and leave overnight. Brush off the residue and rinse.

-Use a perforated foil over the grill.

-Marinating meat for 30 minutes limits carcinogen formation.

-Sides of fruits and veggies are rich in naturally-occurring, cancer-fighting phytochemicals.

-Caution: Processed meat, hot dogs and sausages. These increase cancer risks.

 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)."

If these recommendations are too much for you, then try the no red meat diet:

“As its name suggests, the no red meat diet excludes all types of red meat, including pork, beef and lamb, though it isn't an officially-named diet. These meats have a reddish color because they contain higher amounts of a protein called myoglobin than white meats, according to the USDA (http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/red-meat-diet-5284.html).”

     You don’t have to completely cut off red meat, though.  There are some great Italian food recipes that don’t contain red meat. There are some slow cooking recipes you would enjoy as an alternative to grilling meat. 

     Don’t ask yourself:

“Grilled meat is awesome. What am I going to do without barbeque?”

     Instead, reintroduce yourself to dieting.  Put your walking shoes on so you can find your way to a healthier you. 

     Research:

• How to Trim Belly Fat.

• Define DHEA.

• Eating on a Gluten-Free Diet.

• Curve Sugar Addiction.

• Lists of Iron-Rich Foods.

• Have you tried the Paleo Diet.

• Does Hydroxycut work?

• Lists of Low-Carb Diets.

• Why Apple Cider Vinegar?

• 3 Day Diets.

• Delicious Fat-Burning Foods.

• All Diets A-Z

     Giving up grilled food is the start to a new diet, and increased health.