948 research outputs found
Periodic and Quasi-Periodic Compensation Strategies of Extreme Outages caused by Polarization Mode Dispersion and Amplifier Noise
Effect of birefringent disorder on the Bit Error Rate (BER) in an optical
fiber telecommunication system subject to amplifier noise may lead to extreme
outages, related to anomalously large values of BER. We analyze the Probability
Distribution Function (PDF) of BER for various strategies of Polarization Mode
Dispersion (PMD) compensation. A compensation method is proposed that is
capable of more efficient extreme outages suppression, which leads to
substantial improvement of the fiber system performance.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to IEEE Photonics Letter
The blunted effect of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue in obese subjects is partly reversed by weight loss
BACKGROUND: Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) appears to have impaired effect on subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue metabolism in obese subjects. The aim of the present study was to examine whether weight loss may reverse the impaired effect of GIP on subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue in obese subjects. METHODS: Five obese males participated in a 12-week weight loss program, which consisted of caloric restriction (800 Calâday(â)(1)) followed by 4 weeks of weight-maintenance diet. Before and after weight loss, subcutaneous adipose tissue lipid metabolism was studied by conducting regional measurements of arterio-venous plasma concentrations of metabolites and blood flow (adipose tissue blood flow, ATBF) across a segment of the abdominal adipose tissue in the fasting state and during GIP infusion (1.5âpmolâkg(â)(1â)min(â)(1)) in combination with a hyperinsulinemicâhyperglycemic clamp. RESULTS: After weight loss (7.5±0.8âkg), glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity increased significantly as expected. No significant differences were seen in basal ATBF before (1.3±0.4âml min(â1) 100âg tissue(â1)) and after weight loss (2.1±0.4âml min(â1) 100 g tissue)(â1); however, a tendency to increase was seen. After weight loss, GIP infusion increased ATBF significantly (3.2±0.1âmlâmin(â1)â100âg tissue(â1)) whereas there was no increase before weight loss. Triacylglycerol (TAG) uptake did not change after weight loss. Baseline free fatty acid (FFA) and glycerol output increased significantly after weight loss, P<0.001. During the clamp period, FFA and glycerol output declined significantly, P<0.05, with no differences before and after weight loss. Weight loss increased glucose uptake and decreased FFA/glycerol ratio during the clamp period, P<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: In obese subjects, weight loss, induced by calorie restriction, improves the blunted effect of GIP on subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue metabolism
Instantaneous frequency and amplitude of complex signals based on quaternion Fourier transform
The ideas of instantaneous amplitude and phase are well understood for
signals with real-valued samples, based on the analytic signal which is a
complex signal with one-sided Fourier transform. We extend these ideas to
signals with complex-valued samples, using a quaternion-valued equivalent of
the analytic signal obtained from a one-sided quaternion Fourier transform
which we refer to as the hypercomplex representation of the complex signal. We
present the necessary properties of the quaternion Fourier transform,
particularly its symmetries in the frequency domain and formulae for
convolution and the quaternion Fourier transform of the Hilbert transform. The
hypercomplex representation may be interpreted as an ordered pair of complex
signals or as a quaternion signal. We discuss its derivation and properties and
show that its quaternion Fourier transform is one-sided. It is shown how to
derive from the hypercomplex representation a complex envelope and a phase.
A classical result in the case of real signals is that an amplitude modulated
signal may be analysed into its envelope and carrier using the analytic signal
provided that the modulating signal has frequency content not overlapping with
that of the carrier. We show that this idea extends to the complex case,
provided that the complex signal modulates an orthonormal complex exponential.
Orthonormal complex modulation can be represented mathematically by a polar
representation of quaternions previously derived by the authors. As in the
classical case, there is a restriction of non-overlapping frequency content
between the modulating complex signal and the orthonormal complex exponential.
We show that, under these conditions, modulation in the time domain is
equivalent to a frequency shift in the quaternion Fourier domain. Examples are
presented to demonstrate these concepts
Glucagon-like peptide-1 elicits vasodilation in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in healthy men
In healthy subjects, we recently demonstrated that during acute administration of GLPâ1, cardiac output increased significantly, whereas renal blood flow remained constant. We therefore hypothesize that GLPâ1 induces vasodilation in other organs, for example, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and/or splanchnic tissues. Nine healthy men were examined twice in random order during a 2âhour infusion of either GLPâ1 (1.5Â pmol kg(â1)Â min(â1)) or saline. Cardiac output was continuously estimated noninvasively concomitantly with measurement of intraâarterial blood pressure. Subcutaneous, abdominal adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) was measured by the (133)Xenon clearance technique. Leg and splanchnic blood flow were measured by Fick's Principle, using indocyanine green as indicator. In the GLPâ1 study, cardiac output increased significantly together with a significant increase in arterial pulse pressure and heart rate compared with the saline study. Subcutaneous, abdominal ATBF and leg blood flow increased significantly during the GLPâ1 infusion compared with saline, whereas splanchnic blood flow response did not differ between the studies. We conclude that in healthy subjects, GLPâ1 increases cardiac output acutely due to a GLPâ1âinduced vasodilation in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle together with an increase in cardiac work
Sugar beet hemoglobins: reactions with nitric oxide and nitrite reveal differential roles for nitrogen metabolism
In contrast with human hemoglobin (Hb) in red blood cells, plant Hbs do not transport oxygen, instead research points towards nitrogen metabolism. Using comprehensive and integrated biophysical methods we characterized three sugar beet Hbs: BvHb1.1, BvHb1.2 and BvHb2. Their affinities for oxygen, CO, and hexacoordination were determined. Their role in nitrogen metabolism was studied by assessing their ability to bind NO, to reduce nitrite (NiR, nitrite reductase), and to form nitrate (NOD, NO dioxygenase). Results show that BvHb1.2 has high NOD-like activity, in agreement with the high nitrate levels found in seeds where this protein is expressed. BvHb1.1, on the other side, is equally capable to bind NO as to form nitrate, its main role would be to protect chloroplasts from the deleterious effects of NO. Finally, the ubiquitous, reactive, and versatile BvHb2, able to adopt âopen and closed formsâ, would be part of metabolic pathways where the balance between oxygen and NO is essential. For all proteins, the NiR activity is relevant only when nitrite is present at high concentrations and both NO and oxygen are absent. The three proteins have distinct intrinsic capabilities to react with NO, oxygen and nitrite; however, it is their concentration which will determine the BvHbsâ activity
Engineering tyrosine electron transfer pathways decreases oxidative toxicity in hemoglobin: implications for blood substitute design
Hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carriers (HBOC) have been engineered to replace or augment the oxygen-carrying capacity of erythrocytes. However, clinical results have generally been disappointing due to adverse side effects linked to intrinsic heme-mediated oxidative toxicity and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging. Redox-active tyrosine residues can facilitate electron transfer between endogenous antioxidants and oxidative ferryl heme species. A suitable residue is present in the α-subunit (Y42) of Hb, but absent from the homologous position in the ÎČ-subunit (F41). We therefore replaced this residue with a tyrosine (ÎČF41Y, Hb Mequon). The ÎČF41Y mutation had no effect on the intrinsic rate of lipid peroxidation as measured by conjugated diene and singlet oxygen formation following the addition of ferric(met) Hb to liposomes. However, ÎČF41Y significantly decreased these rates in the presence of physiological levels of ascorbate. Additionally, heme damage in the ÎČ-subunit following the addition of the lipid peroxide hydroperoxyoctadecadieoic acid was five-fold slower in ÎČF41Y. NO bioavailability was enhanced in ÎČF41Y by a combination of a 20% decrease in NO dioxygenase activity and a doubling of the rate of nitrite reductase activity. The intrinsic rate of heme loss from methemoglobin was doubled in the ÎČ-subunit, but unchanged in the α-subunit. We conclude that the addition of a redox-active tyrosine mutation in Hb able to transfer electrons from plasma antioxidants decreases heme-mediated oxidative reactivity and enhances NO bioavailability. This class of mutations has the potential to decrease adverse side effects as one component of a HBOC product.</jats:p
Genetic determinants of cortical structure (thickness, surface area and volumes) among disease free adults in the CHARGE Consortium
Cortical thickness, surface area and volumes (MRI cortical measures) vary with age and cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. We examined heritability, genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of cortical measures across the whole cortex, and in 34 anatomically predefined regions. Our discovery sample comprised 22,824 individuals from 20 cohorts within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium and the United Kingdom Biobank. Significant associations were replicated in the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-analysis (ENIGMA) consortium, and their biological implications explored using bioinformatic annotation and pathway analyses. We identified genetic heterogeneity between cortical measures and brain regions, and 160 genome-wide significant associations pointing to wnt/ÎČ-catenin, TGF-ÎČ and sonic hedgehog pathways. There was enrichment for genes involved in anthropometric traits, hindbrain development, vascular and neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric conditions. These data are a rich resource for studies of the biological mechanisms behind cortical development and aging
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