Apparent histological changes of adipocytes after treatment with CL 316,243, a β-3-adrenergic receptor agonist

Background and objectives: The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of CL 316,243 (CL) (a highly selective β3-adrenergic receptor agonist) on cellular changes occurring in retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (RWAT) of lean and obese rats.Methods: Ten-month-old lean and obese Zucker rats were implanted subcutaneously with osmotic mini-pumps, infusing either saline or CL (1 mg/kg body weight/day) for 4 weeks. Results: There was no effect of CL on food intake. However, the resting metabolic rate in lean and obese rats increased by 55 and 96 per rat, respectively. Total RWAT weight decreased in both lean and obese rats under influence of CL treatment by 65 and 38, respectively. Total body weight and body fat were lower in CL treated rats. Detection of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in RWAT was confirmed qualitatively by both immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence using a rabbit anti rat UCP1 antibody which showed the appearance of a marked increase of this protein in the adipose tissue. Stained semi-thin sections (0.5 µm) also demonstrated abundant nuclei in multilocular adipocytes, in endothelial cells associated with the vasculature, and in interstitial cells. In CL-treated obese rats, a clustering of several multilocular cells around the periphery of a white adipocyte was seen.Conclusion: These results indicate that treatment of both lean and obese Zucker rats with CL induces extensive remodeling of RWAT that includes shrinkage of white adipose tissue, appearance of abundant multilocular cells in RWAT together with the appearance of a marked increase of UCP, preferentially in lean rats. © 2015 Ghorbani et al

Assessment of the effectiveness of the EUROFORGEN NAME and Precision ID Ancestry panel markers for ancestry investigations

The EUROFORGEN NAME panel is a regional ancestry panel designed to differentiate individuals from the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. The first version of the panel was developed for the MassARRAY system and included 111 SNPs. Here, a custom AmpliSeq EUROFORGEN NAME panel with 102 of the original 111 loci was used to sequence 1098 individuals from 14 populations from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, North-East Africa, and South-Central Asia. These samples were also sequenced with a global ancestry panel, the Precision ID Ancestry Panel. The GenoGeographer software was used to assign the AIM profiles to reference populations and calculate the weight of the evidence as likelihood ratios. The combination of the EUROFORGEN NAME and Precision ID Ancestry panels led to fewer ambiguous assignments, especially for individuals from the Middle East and South-Central Asia. The likelihood ratios showed that North African individuals could be separated from European and Middle Eastern individuals using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel. The separation improved with the addition of the EUROFORGEN NAME panel. The analyses also showed that the separation of Middle Eastern populations from European and South-Central Asian populations was challenging even when both panels were applied

The role of exercise training on lipoprotein profiles in adolescent males

BACKGROUND: Major cardiovascular disorders are being recognized earlier in life. In this study we examined the effects of swimming and soccer training on male adolescent lipid-lipoprotein profiles relative to a maturity matched control group to determine the effects of these exercises on specific cardiovascular risk and anti-risk factors. METHODS: Forty five adolescent males (11.81 ± 1.38 yr) including swimmers (SW), soccer players (SO), and non-athlete, physically active individuals as controls (C), participated in this study. Training groups completed 12-wk exercise programs on three non-consecutive days per week. Plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), apolipoprotein B (apoB), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) levels were measured in control, pre-training, during-training, and post-training. RESULTS: In response to the 12-wk training period, the SO group demonstrated a decrease in the mean LDL level compared to the SW and C (SW: 0.15%; SO: −9.51%; C: 19.59%; p < 0.001) groups. There was an increase in both the SW and SO groups vs. the control in mean HDL (SW: 5.66%; SO: 3.07%; C: −7.21%; p < 0.05) and apoA-I (SW: 3.86%; SO: 5.48%; C: −1.01%; p < 0.05). ApoB was considerably lower in the training groups vs. control (SW: −9.52%; SO: −13.87%; C: 21.09%; p < 0.05). ApoA-I/apoB ratio was significantly higher in training groups vs. control (SW: 16.74%; SO: 23.71%; C: −17.35%; p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between groups for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: The favorable alterations in LDL, HDL, apoA-I, and apoB observed in the training groups suggest that both regular swimming or soccer exercise can potentially mitigate cardiovascular risk in adolescent males

Enhancing the Performance of Knee Beam-Column Joint using Hybrid Fibers Reinforced Concrete

The knee beam-column joint is a critical location in a Reinforced Concrete (RC) structure particularly when subjected to earthquake vibrations. The current structural design codes dictate the use of high amounts of steel reinforcements in the frame joint to manage large strain demands in seismic-prone regions. However, these codes could result in the congestion of steel reinforcements in the limited joint area which can consequently produce numerous construction complications. This study aims to improve the structural performance of Knee Joint (KJ) by reducing the load induced to the embedded steel reinforcements during seismic vibrations. Hence, this study attempted to develop a Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HyFRC) by combining multiple synthetic fibers to be introduced onto KJ. Six KJ specimens were cast using five developed HyFRC materials and one Control specimen to be experimentally tested under lateral cyclic loading. The results indicated significant improvements for the HyFRC KJ specimens particularly in energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation rate, displacement ductility toughness, steel reinforcement strain and hysteretic behavior. A total of six Finite Element (FE) KJ models were developed using the HyFRC materials to verify the results from the experimental testing. The accuracy of the proposed FE models resulted in average percentage differences of 25.89% for peak load, 3.45% for peak load displacement and 0.18% for maximum displacements from the experimental data. In conclusion, this study developed HyFRC materials that are beneficial in providing cost-efficient alternatives to Reinforced Concrete (RC) KJ structures in areas with low to moderate level of seismic risks

Curvature in Noncommutative Geometry

Our understanding of the notion of curvature in a noncommutative setting has progressed substantially in the past ten years. This new episode in noncommutative geometry started when a Gauss-Bonnet theorem was proved by Connes and Tretkoff for a curved noncommutative two torus. Ideas from spectral geometry and heat kernel asymptotic expansions suggest a general way of defining local curvature invariants for noncommutative Riemannian type spaces where the metric structure is encoded by a Dirac type operator. To carry explicit computations however one needs quite intriguing new ideas. We give an account of the most recent developments on the notion of curvature in noncommutative geometry in this paper.Comment: 76 pages, 8 figures, final version, one section on open problems added, and references expanded. Appears in "Advances in Noncommutative Geometry - on the occasion of Alain Connes' 70th birthday

A study on job postures and musculoskeletal illnesses in dentists

Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) compose a large part of occupational diseases in dental professionals, prevention of which is dependent on assessment and improvement of job postures by means of ergonomic interventions. This study was aimed at evaluation of ergonomic conditions of the profession of dentists and also at assessing the relationship between MSDs and conditions of work. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among 65 dentists using the method of Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The prevalence of MSDs was obtained by the use of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). Results: In this investigation, the prevalence of MSDs for different body parts was: 75.9% for the neck, 58.6% for the shoulders, 56.9% for the upper back, 48.3% for the lower back and 44.8% for the wrist. Job analysis by the use of REBA showed that 89.6% of limbs in group A and 79.3% of limbs in group B had a score > 4. Only neck and lower back pain have significant relationship with the risk levels obtained using the REBA method. Conclusions: It can be concluded that work postures of dentists need to be improved. In addition to education, work station design, rest period during work and regular physical activities should be taken into account

Correction to: Enhancing the Performance of Knee Beam–Column Joint Using Hybrid Fibers Reinforced Concrete

The knee beam–column joint is a critical location in a Reinforced Concrete (RC) structure particularly when subjected to earthquake vibrations. The current structural design codes dictate the use of high amounts of steel reinforcements in the frame joint to manage large strain demands in seismic-prone regions. However, these codes could result in the congestion of steel reinforcements in the limited joint area which can consequently produce numerous construction complications. This study aims to improve the structural performance of Knee Joint (KJ) by reducing the load induced to the embedded steel reinforcements during seismic vibrations. Hence, this study attempted to develop a Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HyFRC) by combining multiple synthetic fibers to be introduced onto KJ. Six KJ specimens were cast using five developed HyFRC materials and one Control specimen to be experimentally tested under lateral cyclic loading. The results indicated significant improvements for the HyFRC KJ specimens particularly in energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation rate, displacement ductility toughness, steel reinforcement strain and hysteretic behavior. A total of six Finite Element (FE) KJ models were developed using the HyFRC materials to verify the results from the experimental testing. The accuracy of the proposed FE models resulted in average percentage differences of 25.89% for peak load, 3.45% for peak load displacement and 0.18% for maximum displacements from the experimental data. In conclusion, this study developed HyFRC materials that are beneficial in providing cost-efficient alternatives to Reinforced Concrete (RC) KJ structures in areas with low to moderate level of seismic risks

A Paper-Based Multiplexed Transaminase Test for Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Liver Function Testing

In developed nations, monitoring for drug-induced liver injury through serial measurements of serum transaminases [aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)] in at-risk individuals is the standard of care. Despite the need, monitoring for drug-related hepatotoxicity in resource-limited settings is often limited by expense and logistics, even for patients at highest risk. This article describes the development and clinical testing of a paper-based, multiplexed microfluidic assay designed for rapid, semiquantitative measurement of AST and ALT in a fingerstick specimen. Using 223 clinical specimens obtained by venipuncture and 10 fingerstick specimens from healthy volunteers, we have shown that our assay can, in 15 min, provide visual measurements of AST and ALT in whole blood or serum, which allow the user to place those values into one of three readout “bins” [5× ULN, corresponding to tuberculosis/HIV treatment guidelines] with >90% accuracy. These data suggest that the ultimate point-of-care fingerstick device will have high impact on patient care in low-resource settings.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Strut-and-tie model for externally bonded CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete deep beams based on particle swarm optimization algorithm: CFRP debonding and rupture

A substantial number of studies have been done on the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP). However, in reference to shear, there are still many questions concerning the complexity and nature of the failure mechanism of RC structures strengthened in shear using CFRP. This is particularly true for concrete deep beams because of the nonlinearity of the stress distribution. This study had the goal of developing a simple procedure or model for estimating the shear capacity of RC deep beams strengthened with CFRP sheets. The proposed model was designed based on an extension of the strut-and-tie model (STM) used for un-strengthened RC deep beams to the case of those shear strengthened with CFRP sheets. The technique avoided the traditional trial-and-error procedure for obtaining the unknown coefficients of the proposed model. It utilized a particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), in which the optimal STM of an CFRP-strengthened RC beam was determined by searching for the optimum unknown coefficients (stress distribution and concrete tensile stress reduction factors). This model considered the effects of two CFRP failure modes, namely the CFRP debonding and CFRP tensile rupture failure modes. The proposed model was validated using experimental data collected from the current study and existing literature. The hybrid PSO-STM predicted a mean value = 1.1, SD = 0.098, and coefficient of variation (CoV) = 8.9%. These results showed that the proposed model has high accuracy and consistency and it can accurately estimate the ultimate shear strength of CFRP-strengthened RC deep beams

Evaluation of Euler Fluxes for Hypersonic Flow Computations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76462/1/AIAA-33735-324.pd