Adipocyte-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B deletion increases lipogenesis, adipocyte cell size and is a minor regulator of glucose homeostasis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Chemical Composition, Biological Activity, and Health-Promoting Effects of Withania somnifera for Pharma-Food Industry Applications

The Withania genus comes from the Solanaceae family and includes around 23 species, spread over some areas of the Mediterranean, Asia, and East Africa. Widely used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, these plants are rich in secondary metabolites, with special emphasis on steroidal lactones, named withanolides which are used as ingredients in numerous formulations for a plethora of diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis, impotence, amnesia, hypertension, anxiety, stress, cancer, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases, and many others. Among them, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is the most widely addressed species from a pharmacological and agroindustrial point of view. In this sense, this review provides an overview of the folk uses, phytochemical composition, and biological activity, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activity of W. somnifera, although more recently other species have also been increasingly investigated. In addition, their health-promoting effects, i.e., antistress, anxiolytic, adaptogenic, antirheumatoid arthritis, chemoprotective, and cardiorespiratory-enhancing abilities, along with safety and adverse effects are also discussed.N. C. -M. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017)

Myeloid-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B deficiency in mice protects against high-fat diet and lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation, hyperinsulinemia, and endotoxemia through an IL-10 STAT3-dependent mechanism.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) negatively regulates insulin and leptin signaling, rendering it an attractive drug target for treatment of obesity-induced insulin resistance. However, some studies suggest caution when targeting macrophage PTP1B, due to its potential anti-inflammatory role. We assessed the role of macrophage PTP1B in inflammation and whole-body metabolism using myeloid-cell (LysM) PTP1B knockout mice (LysM PTP1B). LysM PTP1B mice were protected against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia and hepatic damage associated with decreased proinflammatory cytokine secretion in vivo. In vitro, LPS-treated LysM PTP1B bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) displayed increased interleukin (IL)-10 mRNA expression, with a concomitant decrease in TNF-α mRNA levels. These anti-inflammatory effects were associated with increased LPS- and IL-10-induced STAT3 phosphorylation in LysM PTP1B BMDMs. Chronic inflammation induced by high-fat (HF) feeding led to equally beneficial effects of macrophage PTP1B deficiency; LysM PTP1B mice exhibited improved glucose and insulin tolerance, protection against LPS-induced hyperinsulinemia, decreased macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue, and decreased liver damage. HF-fed LysM PTP1B mice had increased basal and LPS-induced IL-10 levels, associated with elevated STAT3 phosphorylation in splenic cells, IL-10 mRNA expression, and expansion of cells expressing myeloid markers. These increased IL-10 levels negatively correlated with circulating insulin and alanine transferase levels. Our studies implicate myeloid PTP1B in negative regulation of STAT3/IL-10-mediated signaling, highlighting its inhibition as a potential anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic target in obesity

Liver-specific deletion of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B improves obesity- and pharmacologically induced endoplasmic reticulum stress

Peer reviewedPostprin

Cost assessment of profitability of exploitation of brown coal from the Legnica Zachód bed

W artykule przedstawiono opłacalność wydobycia węgla brunatnego ze złoża "Legnica Zachód", wykorzystując w tym celu rachunek zysków na poziomie sprzedaży. Posłużono się w tym celu operacyjnymi kosztami rodzajowymi, porównując ich strukturę i wartość w istniejących kopalniach. Ich analiza pozwoliła prognozować koszty wydobycia w kopalni "Legnica Zachód", uwzględniając równocześnie wyniki kopalń węgla brunatnego w Niemczech. Przeprowadzono kosztowo-cenową analizę opłacalności współdziałania kopalni z elektrownią oraz elektrowni na wolnym rynku energii.Profitability of exploitation of brown coal from the Legnica-Zachód bed as well as the profit ratio on the level of sale have been presented. For that purpose operation type costs have been used thus comparing their structure and value in the open mines. Their analysis helped to predict the exploitation costs in the Legnica Zachód mine taking into account, at the same time, the results of the brown coal mines in Germany. The cost-price analysis of profitability of cooperation of the mine and electric power plant and electric power plants on the energy free market has been made

Cardiac Activity Based on Acoustic Signal Properties

The influence of sleeping conditions on human health and well-being is now fully understood, but still underestimated. Sleep disorders e.g. snoring, wheezing or sleep apnea are widespread among people of all ages, although prevalent amidst the male population, obese people with a high value of BMI, people who suffered a stroke, have hypertension or other heart diseases. Medical support is needed in order to ensure a good night's sleep for patients suffering from sleep disorders. Sleep monitoring is also very important in case of emergencies. This research was aimed at finding a correlation between sleep disorders represented by acoustic signals and heart activity parameters. The measurement of breathing through simultaneously acquired acoustic and ECG signals is used to quantify the respiratory obstruction during sleep. The information collected by synchronized recording of acoustic effects and the ECG signal partly overlaps, giving an opportunity to improve accuracy of measurement. Results indicate that the aspect of sleep analysis can be extended using this method. The information collected by simultaneous recording of acoustic effects and the ECG signal is provided and the results are described

Ecological and economic conditions of using resources in producing aggregates process

W procesie produkcji kruszyw łamanych często musimy uwzględnić przeciwstawne cele, ekologiczne oraz ekonomiczne. Z ekologicznego punktu widzenia powinniśmy dążyć do maksymalnego wykorzystania zasobów. Tymczasem istotą produkcji kruszyw jest konieczność stosowania kilku stadiów kruszenia nadawy. W efekcie powstaje coraz więcej frakcji drobnych, traktowanych jako odpad. Z ekonomicznego punktu widzenia najkorzystniej byłoby sprzedawać frakcje o najwyższych cenach: grysy oraz tłuczeń. Pośrednim rozwiązaniem może być oferowanie mieszanek kruszywowych, zawierających frakcje o najniższym uziarnieniu. Artykuł omawia sposób optymalnego rozwiązania powyższego problemu, z uwzględnieniem rodzaju kopaliny, niezbędnych procesów przeróbczych, popytu na kruszywo oraz cen poszczególnych frakcji.There are in production process of broken aggregates the contrary ecological and economic purposes. From ecological point of view it should be tried to do the maximization in using up resources. So far the production of aggregates needs to use several stages of feed crushing. As the effect there is created more and more small fractions treated as waste. From economic point of view the best situation would be to sell the highest price (the most expensive) fraction: chippings, voussoir, breakstone. The mediate solution can be to offer the lowest granulation fractions. This paper describes the optimum way of choice in this matter, concerning the kind of mineral necessary for recast process, demand of aggregates, prices of particular fraction of aggregates

The analysis of parameters of DCF method in estimation of investment on lignite deposit

Artykuł podaje przykładową procedurę oceny ekonomicznej zagospodarowania nowego złoża węgla brunatnego. Zwrócono uwagę na sposób wyznaczania wartości zmiennych decyzyjnych we wzorze na NPV. Uwzględniono specyfikę kopalni węgla brunatnego przy ustalaniu przepływów finansowych, przyjmując zamiast kosztów operacyjnych jednostkowe koszty urabiania masy. Przyjęto metodę dyskontową do oceny ekonomicznej efektywności zagospodarowania nowego złoża węgla brunatnego. Po uwzględnieniu wspomnianej specyfiki węgla brunatnego we wzorze na NPV występuje dziewięć parametrów o różnym charakterze, deterministycznym i probabilistycznym. Te parametry to; nakłady inwestycyjne It, stopa dyskontowa r, okres oceny inwestycji t, ilość lat cyklu inwestycyjnego k, wartość rezydualna Re, stawka podatku dochodowego T, cena sprzedaży węgla p, ilość sprzedanego węgla w roku x/pt, roczne wydobycie masy xM, koszt jednostkowy wydobycia masy k/jm. W artykule przedstawiono także problem kosztów i cen węgla brunatnego w kontekście powiązania kopalni i elektrowni w warunkach rynkowych. Kopalnia nie ma wyboru odbiorcy swojego węgla bowiem jest nim skojarzona elektrownia zawodowa. Omówiono najważniejsze czynniki wpływające na koszty i ceny węgla. W przypadku kosztu wydobycia węgla największy wpływ na jego wartość ma współczynnik nadkładu do węglaThis article presents an example of a procedure for economic estimation of exploitation of a new deposit. This paper is concerned with a way of assigning of the scope of a decisional variable in the NPV (Net Present Value) formula. This article also takes into consideration the specific of lignite mining in cash flow calculation, taking into account instead of operating costs, the unit costs of mass exploitation. The discount method was used for the economic estimation of efficiency of exploitation of a new lignite deposits. After taking into account the mentioned lignite specific there are nine parameters in formula of NPV of a different nature; deterministic and probabilistic. These parameters include; investment expenses It, discount rate r, investment evaluation period t, number of years of the investment cycle k, final (residual) value Re, tax rate T, sales price p, sale volume of lignite per year x/pt, yearly volume of a mass exploitation xM, unit cost of mass exploitation. This paper presents also the problem of costs and prices of lignite with reference to the connection between lignite mining and electrical power station in market conditions. Lignite mines can't choose the recipient of its lignite, because this is an electrical power station, with is associated with lignite mines. This article describes the main elements, which influence the costs and prices of lignite. Concerning exploitation cost the deciding factor having influence on its value is cover to lignite deposit factor