A Continuum Approach to the Nonlinear In-Plane Galloping of Shallow Flexible Cables

The aeroelastic stability of horizontal, suspended, shallow, iced cables is studied via a continuum model. Both external and internal damping, consistent with the Rayleigh model, are taken into account. The quasi-static theory of the aerodynamic forces is applied. An in-plane nonlinear model of galloping is formulated, displaying the importance of internal damping, both on the critical velocity and on the limit-cycle amplitude. A perturbation procedure is developed for nonlinear analysis in nonresonant conditions (monomodal galloping). The modification of the galloping mode due to quadratic nonlinearities is studied, and its real or complex character is discussed

Effects of hypotensive and non-hypotensive doses of manidipine on structure, responses to endothelin-1 and ICAM-1 production in mesenteric small resistance arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We have evaluated the effects of a new calcium channel blocker, manidipine, given at both high, hypotensive and low, non-hypotensive doses, on vascular morphology, response to endothelin-1 and ICAM-1 production in mesenteric small resistance arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).Ten SHR were treated with manidipine 3 mg/kg per day (high dose) and 10 with manidipine 0.3 mg/kg/per day (low dose). The drug was administered by gavage from the 4th to 12th weeks of age. Eighteen Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and 18 SHR were kept untreated as controls. Rats were killed at 13 weeks. Mesenteric small arteries were dissected and mounted on a micromyograph for determination of indexes of vascular structure (media thickness, wall thickness, media/lumen ratio).Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced by the high dose of the drug, while no effect was observed with low-dose manidipine. A reduction in the media/lumen ratio was observed only in SHR treated with high-dose manidipine. The response to endothelin-1 in untreated SHR was significantly lower in comparison with WKY; a significant reduction was observed in SHR treated with high-dose manidipine. ICAM-1 vascular concentrations were higher in untreated SHR than in WKY controls. Both high- and low-dose manidipine reduced ICAM-1 concentrations toward normalization.Manidipine at high, hypotensive, but not at low, non-hypotensive doses has been proven to reduce structural alterations in mesenteric small resistance arteries, and to normalize vascular responses to endothelin-1. In addition, manidipine, at both low and high doses, may reduce ICAM-1 vascular production, thus suggesting a possible anti-atherogenic effect

Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphatase Overexpression in Pancreatic β-Cells Results in Reduced Insulin Secretion : A New Mechanism for Fat-Induced Impairment of β-Cell Function

OBJECTIVE—Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) is a gluconeogenic enzyme that is upregulated in islets or pancreatic β-cell lines exposed to high fat. However, whether specific β-cell upregulation of FBPase can impair insulin secretory function is not known. The objective of this study therefore is to determine whether a specific increase in islet β-cell FBPase can result in reduced glucose-mediated insulin secretion

Lineage Abundance Estimation for SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Using Transcriptome Quantification Techniques

Effectively monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 mutants is essential to efforts to counter the ongoing pandemic. Predicting lineage abundance from wastewater, however, is technically challenging. We show that by sequencing SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and applying algorithms initially used for transcriptome quantification, we can estimate lineage abundance in wastewater samples. We find high variability in signal among individual samples, but the overall trends match those observed from sequencing clinical samples. Thus, while clinical sequencing remains a more sensitive technique for population surveillance, wastewater sequencing can be used to monitor trends in mutant prevalence in situations where clinical sequencing is unavailable

J-shaped relationship between habitual coffee consumption and 10-year (2002–2012) cardiovascular disease incidence:the ATTICA study

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the association between coffee consumption and 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in the ATTICA study, and whether this is modified by the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) at baseline. Methods: During 2001–2002, 3042 healthy adults (1514 men and 1528 women) living in the greater area of Athens were voluntarily recruited to the ATTICA study. In 2011–2012, the 10-year follow-up was performed in 2583 participants (15% of the participants were lost to follow-up). Coffee consumption was assessed by a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline (abstention, low, moderate, heavy). Incidence of fatal or non-fatal CVD event was recorded using WHO-ICD-10 criteria and MetS was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment panel III (revised) criteria. Results: Overall, after controlling for potential CVD risk factors, the multivariate analysis revealed a J-shaped association between daily coffee drinking and the risk for a first CVD event in a 10-year period. Particularly, the odds ratio for low (250 ml/day), compared to abstention, were 0.44 (95% CI 0.29–0.68), 0.49 (95% CI 0.27–0.92) and 2.48 (95% CI 1.56–1.93), respectively. This inverse association was also verified among participants without MetS at baseline, but not among participants with the MetS. Conclusions: These data support the protective effect of drinking moderate quantities of coffee (equivalent to approximately 1–2 cups daily) against CVD incidents. This protective effect was only significant for participants without MetS at baseline

Proteomic Analyses Reveal Common Promiscuous Patterns of Cell Surface Proteins on Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Sperms

BACKGROUND: It has long been proposed that early embryos and reproductive organs exhibit similar gene expression profiles. However, whether this similarity is propagated to the protein level remains largely unknown. We have previously characterised the promiscuous expression pattern of cell surface proteins on mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. As cell surface proteins also play critical functions in human embryonic stem (hES) cells and germ cells, it is important to reveal whether a promiscuous pattern of cell surface proteins also exists for these cells. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Surface proteins of hES cells and human mature sperms (hSperms) were purified by biotin labelling and subjected to proteomic analyses. More than 1000 transmembrane or secreted cell surface proteins were identified on the two cell types, respectively. Proteins from both cell types covered a large variety of functional categories including signal transduction, adhesion and transporting. Moreover, both cell types promiscuously expressed a wide variety of tissue specific surface proteins, and some surface proteins were heterogeneously expressed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings indicate that the promiscuous expression of functional and tissue specific cell surface proteins may be a common pattern in embryonic stem cells and germ cells. The conservation of gene expression patterns between early embryonic cells and reproductive cells is propagated to the protein level. These results have deep implications for the cell surface signature characterisation of pluripotent stem cells and germ cells and may lead the way to a new area of study, i.e., the functional significance of promiscuous gene expression in pluripotent and germ cells

Eficiência de fungicidas para o controle da podridão de grãos da soja, na safra 2022/2023: resultados sumarizados dos ensaios cooperativos.

Desde o aparecimento do problema nas regiões tem sido observada diferença de reação entre as cultivares e redução dos sintomas com a aplicação de fungicidas. Uma rede de ensaios foi formada para avaliar a sensibilidade das cultivares e a eficiência de fungicidas na podridão de grãos. A podridão de grãos é observada a partir do início de enchimento de grãos, estádio R5. Externamente, as vagens podem apresentar sintomas de encharcamento e/ou escurecimento, sem abertura visível. Quando abertas, apresentam apodrecimento dos grãos. A presença de vagens com sintomas e os grãos apodrecidos ocorrem de forma aleatória na planta e na vagem, respectivamente, não necessariamente acometendo todos os grãos. Os fungos que predominam nos isolamentos a partir dos grãos e vagens (com e sem sintomas) são diferentes espécies de Diaporthe, Fusarium, Colletotrichum e, em algumas safras, também foi observada alta incidência de mancha-púrpura nos grãos, causada por Cercospora spp. Todos esses fungos e outros podem ser encontrados de forma latente na planta e nos grãos, como endofíticos, sem causar sintomas aparentes (Sinclair, 1991), cada um associado a uma doença quando ocorrem os sintomas. Sintomas de podridão de grãos da soja têm sido relatados com maior frequência na região do médio-norte do estado de Mato Grosso e em Rondônia, a partir da safra 2018/2019, com severidades variadas entre as safras e cultivares. Esses patógenos são comuns nas diferentes regiões sojícolas do País. A maior incidência de problemas na região médio-norte do Mato Grosso e em Rondônia pode estar associada a condições climáticas favoráveis, como estresses climáticos que fazem com que os fungos latentes se tornem patógenos, e sensibilidade das cultivares. Os fatores que desencadeiam a maior frequência de apodrecimento de grãos por esses patógenos nessas regiões ainda estão em estudo. O objetivo desta publicação é apresentar os resultados sumarizados dos experimentos cooperativos, realizados na safra 2022/2023, no médio-norte do Mato Grosso e em Rondônia, no controle da podridão de grãos na cultura da soja