Feeding and metabolic consequences of scheduled consumption of large, binge-type meals of high fat diet in the Sprague–Dawley rat

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evolution of leaf-form in land plants linked to atmospheric CO2 decline in the Late Palaeozoic era

The widespread appearance of megaphyll leaves, with their branched veins and planate form, did not occur until the close of the Devonian period at about 360 Myr ago. This happened about 40 Myr after simple leafless vascular plants first colonized the land in the Late Silurian/Early Devonian, but the reason for the slow emergence of this common feature of present-day plants is presently unresolved. Here we show, in a series of quantitative analyses using fossil leaf characters and biophysical principles, that the delay was causally linked with a 90% drop in atmospheric pCO2 during the Late Palaeozoic era. In contrast to simulations for a typical Early Devonian land plant, possessing few stomata on leafless stems, those for a planate leaf with the same stomatal characteristics indicate that it would have suffered lethal overheating, because of greater interception of solar energy and low transpiration. When planate leaves first appeared in the Late Devonian and subsequently diversified in the Carboniferous period, they possessed substantially higher stomatal densities. This observation is consistent with the effects of the pCO2 on stomatal development and suggests that the evolution of planate leaves could only have occurred after an increase in stomatal density, allowing higher transpiration rates that were sufficient to maintain cool and viable leaf temperatures

Protoindustrialización

Agricultura, industria y actividades urbanas en la España moderna. Actas del II Congreso de Historia Económica. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (17-19 de diciembre de 1981)L. Alonso Alvarez. De la manufactura a la industria: La Real Fábrica de Tabacos de La Coruña (1804-1857).-- Xan Carmona Badia. Clases sociales, estructuras agrarias e industria rural doméstica en la Galicia del siglo XVIII.-- Agustín González Enciso. La protoindustrialización en Castilla la Vieja en el siglo XVIII.-- J. Maluquer de Motes. La producción de hierro en la farga catalana.-- J. Morilla Critz. Las desventajas de una industrialización prematura: La industria andaluza en el siglo XIX.-- Jaume Torras Elías. Especialización agrícola e industria rural en Cataluña en el siglo XVIII.-- ColoquioPublicad

The novel mu-opioid antagonist, GSK1521498, reduces ethanol consumption in C57BL/6J mice.

RATIONALE Using the drinking-in-the-dark (DID) model, we compared the effects of a novel mu-opioid receptor antagonist, GSK1521498, with naltrexone, a licensed treatment of alcohol dependence, on ethanol consumption in mice. OBJECTIVE We test the ability of GSK1521498 to reduce alcohol consumption and compare its intrinsic efficacy to that of naltrexone by comparing the two drugs at doses matched for equivalent receptor occupancy. METHODS Thirty-six C57BL/6J mice were tested in a DID procedure. In 2-day cycles, animals experienced one baseline, injection-free session, and one test session when they received two injections, one of test drug and one placebo. All animals received GSK1521498 (0, 0.1, 1 and 3 mg/kg, i.p., 30 min pre-treatment) and naltrexone (0, 0.1, 1 and 3 mg/kg, s.c. 10 min pre-treatment) in a cross-over design. Receptor occupancies following the same doses were determined ex vivo in separate groups by autoradiography, using [3H]DAMGO. Binding in the region of interest was measured integrally by computer-assisted microdensitometry and corrected for non-specific binding. RESULTS Both GSK1521498 and naltrexone dose-dependently decreased ethanol consumption. When drug doses were matched for 70-75 % receptor occupancy, GSK1521498 3 mg/kg, i.p., caused a 2.5-fold greater reduction in alcohol consumption than naltrexone 0.1 mg/kg, s.c. Both GSK1521498 and naltrexone significantly reduced sucrose consumption at a dose of 1 mg/kg but not 0.1 mg/kg. In a test of conditioned taste aversion, GSK1521498 (3 mg/kg) reduced sucrose consumption 24 h following exposure to a conditioning injection. CONCLUSIONS Both opioid receptor antagonists reduced alcohol consumption but GK1521498 has higher intrinsic efficacy than naltrexone

Organism-sediment interactions govern post-hypoxia recovery of ecosystem functioning

Hypoxia represents one of the major causes of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning loss for coastal waters. Since eutrophication-induced hypoxic events are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, understanding the response of ecosystems to hypoxia is of primary importance to understand and predict the stability of ecosystem functioning. Such ecological stability may greatly depend on the recovery patterns of communities and the return time of the system properties associated to these patterns. Here, we have examined how the reassembly of a benthic community contributed to the recovery of ecosystem functioning following experimentally-induced hypoxia in a tidal flat. We demonstrate that organism-sediment interactions that depend on organism size and relate to mobility traits and sediment reworking capacities are generally more important than recovering species richness to set the return time of the measured sediment processes and properties. Specifically, increasing macrofauna bioturbation potential during community reassembly significantly contributed to the recovery of sediment processes and properties such as denitrification, bedload sediment transport, primary production and deep pore water ammonium concentration. Such bioturbation potential was due to the replacement of the small-sized organisms that recolonised at early stages by large-sized bioturbating organisms, which had a disproportionately stronger influence on sediment. This study suggests that the complete recovery of organism-sediment interactions is a necessary condition for ecosystem functioning recovery, and that such process requires long periods after disturbance due to the slow growth of juveniles into adult stages involved in these interactions. Consequently, repeated episodes of disturbance at intervals smaller than the time needed for the system to fully recover organism-sediment interactions may greatly impair the resilience of ecosystem functioning.

Very low prevalence of ultrasound detected tenosynovial abnormalities in healthy subjects throughout the age range: OMERACT ultrasound minimal disease study

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ultrasound detected tendon abnormalities in healthy subjects (HS) across the age range. / Methods: Adult HS (age 18 to 80 years) were recruited in 23 international Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) ultrasound centres and clinically assessed to exclude inflammatory diseases or overt osteoarthritis before undergoing a bilateral ultrasound examination of digit flexor (DF) 1-5 and extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendons to detect the presence of tenosynovial hypertrophy (TSH), power Doppler (TPD) and tenosynovial effusion (TEF), usually considered ultrasound signs of inflammatory diseases. A comparison cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients was taken from the Birmingham BEACON early arthritis inception cohort. / Results: 939 HS and 144 RA patients were included. The majority of HS (85%) had grade 0 for TSH, TPD and TEF in all DF and ECU tendons examined. There was statistically significant difference in the proportion of TSH and TPD involvement between HS and RA subjects (HS vs RA p<0.001). In HS there was no difference in the presence of ultrasound abnormalities between age groups. / Conclusions: Ultrasound detected TSH and TPD abnormalities are rare in HS and can be regarded as markers of active inflammatory disease in newly presenting suspected RA

Implications of Unconnected Micro, Molecular, and Molar Level Research in Psychology: The Case of Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and External Regulation

The proliferation of research production in Psychology as a science has been increasing exponentially. This situation leads to the necessity of organizing the research production into different levels of analysis that make it possible to delimit each research domain. The objective of this analysis is to clearly distinguish the different levels of research: micro-analysis, molecular, and molar. Each level is presented, along with an analysis of its benefits and limitations. Next, this analysis is applied to the topics of Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and External Regulation. Conclusions, limitations, and implications for future research are offered, with a view toward a better connection of research production across the different levels, and an allusion to ethical considerationsThis study was supported by R&D Project EDU2011-24805, PGC2018-094672-B-I00 (Ministry of Science and Education, Spain), and UAL18-SEJ-DO31-A-FEDER (University of Almería), and the European Social Fund

Lack of awareness of erectile dysfunction in many men with risk factors for erectile dysfunction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Men with erectile dysfunction often have concurrent medical conditions. Conversely, men with these conditions may also have underlying erectile dysfunction. The prevalence of unrecognized erectile dysfunction in men with comorbidities commonly associated with erectile dysfunction was determined in men invited to participate in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of sildenafil citrate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Men ≥30 years old presenting with ≥1 erectile dysfunction risk factor (controlled hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, metabolic syndrome, stable coronary artery disease, diabetes, depression, lower urinary tract symptoms, obesity [body mass index ≥30 kg/m²] or waist circumference ≥40 inches), and not previously diagnosed with erectile dysfunction were evaluated. The screening question, "Do you have erectile dysfunction?," with responses of "no," "yes," and "unsure," and the Erectile Function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF) were administered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 1084 men screened, 1053 answered the screening question and also had IIEF-EF scores. IIEF-EF scores indicating erectile dysfunction occurred in 71% (744/1053), of whom 54% (399/744) had moderate or severe erectile dysfunction. Of 139 answering "yes," 526 answering "unsure," and 388 answering "no," 96%, 90%, and 36%, respectively, had some degree of erectile dysfunction. The mean±SD (range) number of risk factors was 2.9 ± 1.7 (3-8) in the "yes" group, 3.2 ± 1.7 (3-9) in the "unsure" group, and 2.6 ± 1.5 (2-8) in the "no" group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although awareness of having erectile dysfunction was low, most men with risk factors had IIEF-EF scores indicating erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction should be suspected and assessed in men with risk factors, regardless of their apparent level of awareness of erectile dysfunction.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00343200.</p

Synthesis and Electrochemical and Photophysical Characterization of New 4,4′‐π‐Conjugated 2,2′‐Bipyridines that are End‐Capped with Cyanoacrylic Acid/Ester Groups

Two new functionalized 4,4′‐disubstituted 2,2′‐bipyridines that were end‐capped with cyanoacrylic acid or cyanoacrylic acid ester anchoring groups, which might allow their efficient functionalization on TiO2 or other metal‐oxide semiconductor surfaces, have been synthesized and characterized by electrochemical, photophysical, and spectroscopic measurements. The electrochemical and photophysical properties of these 4,4′‐disubstituted 2,2′‐bipyridines with extended π systems, in particular their LUMO energies, make them promising candidates to build up inorganic–organic hybrid photosensitizers for the sensitization of metal‐oxide semiconductors (e.g., TiO2 nanoparticles and/or nanotubes).The fantastic 4,4′: The electrochemical and photophysical properties of new 4,4′‐disubstituted 2,2′‐bipyridines with extended π systems and cyanoacrylic acid or cyanoacrylic acid ester anchoring groups make them promising candidates to build up inorganic–organic hybrid photosensitizers for the sensitization of metal‐oxide semiconductors (e.g., TiO2 nanoparticles and/or nanotubes).Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137440/1/asia201501324.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137440/2/asia201501324_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137440/3/asia201501324-sup-0001-misc_information.pd

Stochastic climate theory and modeling

Stochastic methods are a crucial area in contemporary climate research and are increasingly being used in comprehensive weather and climate prediction models as well as reduced order climate models. Stochastic methods are used as subgrid-scale parameterizations (SSPs) as well as for model error representation, uncertainty quantification, data assimilation, and ensemble prediction. The need to use stochastic approaches in weather and climate models arises because we still cannot resolve all necessary processes and scales in comprehensive numerical weather and climate prediction models. In many practical applications one is mainly interested in the largest and potentially predictable scales and not necessarily in the small and fast scales. For instance, reduced order models can simulate and predict large-scale modes. Statistical mechanics and dynamical systems theory suggest that in reduced order models the impact of unresolved degrees of freedom can be represented by suitable combinations of deterministic and stochastic components and non-Markovian (memory) terms. Stochastic approaches in numerical weather and climate prediction models also lead to the reduction of model biases. Hence, there is a clear need for systematic stochastic approaches in weather and climate modeling. In this review, we present evidence for stochastic effects in laboratory experiments. Then we provide an overview of stochastic climate theory from an applied mathematics perspective. We also survey the current use of stochastic methods in comprehensive weather and climate prediction models and show that stochastic parameterizations have the potential to remedy many of the current biases in these comprehensive models