Mitochondrial transport and metabolism of the vitamin B-derived cofactors thiamine pyrophosphate, coenzyme A, FAD and NAD+, and related diseases: A review

Multiple mitochondrial matrix enzymes playing key roles in metabolism require cofactors for their action. Due to the high impermeability of the mitochondrial inner membrane, these cofactors need to be synthesized within the mitochondria or be imported, themselves or one of their precursors, into the organelles. Transporters belonging to the protein family of mitochondrial carriers have been identified to transport the coenzymes: thiamine pyrophosphate, coenzyme A, FAD and NAD+, which are all structurally similar to nucleotides and derived from different B-vitamins. These mitochondrial cofactors bind more or less tightly to their enzymes and, after having been involved in a specific reaction step, are regenerated, spontaneously or by other enzymes, to return to their active form, ready for the next catalysis round. Disease-causing mutations in the mitochondrial cofactor carrier genes compromise not only the transport reaction but also the activity of all mitochondrial enzymes using that particular cofactor and the metabolic pathways in which the cofactor-dependent enzymes are involved. The mitochondrial transport, metabolism and diseases of the cofactors thiamine pyrophosphate, coenzyme A, FAD and NAD+ are the focus of this review

The relationship between charge distribution, charge packet formation and electroluminescence in XLPE under DC

Different reports describing the internal distribution of space charge in cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) under DC field have been published recently. The most striking fact observed is the organization of the space charge into charge packets that cross the insulation. All models for charge packet formation imply that carrier recombination will occur. As the recombination region is potentially a luminescence one it is of interest to record the electroluminescence in this regime. This topic is addressed in this paper

Artificial neural networks for resources optimization in energetic environment

Resource Planning Optimization (RPO) is a common task that many companies need to face to get several benefits, like budget improvements and run-time analyses. However, even if it is often solved by using several software products and tools, the great success and validity of the Artificial Intelligence-based approaches, in many research fields, represent a huge opportunity to explore alternative solutions for solving optimization problems. To this purpose, the following paper aims to investigate the use of multiple Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for solving a RPO problem related to the scheduling of different Combined Heat & Power (CHP) generators. The experimental results, carried out by using data extracted by considering a real Microgrid system, have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach

A federated approach to Android malware classification through Perm-Maps

In the last decades, mobile-based apps have been increasingly used in several application fields for many purposes involving a high number of human activities. Unfortunately, in addition to this, the number of cyber-attacks related to mobile platforms is increasing day-by-day. However, although advances in Artificial Intelligence science have allowed addressing many aspects of the problem, malware classification tasks are still challenging. For this reason, the following paper aims to propose new special features, called permission maps (Perm-Maps), which combine information related to the Android permissions and their corresponding severity levels. Such features have proven to be very effective in classifying different malware families through the usage of a convolutional neural network. Also, the advantages introduced by the Perm-Maps have been enhanced by a training process based on a federated logic. Experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves up to a 3% improvement in average accuracy with respect to J48 trees and Naive Bayes classifier, and up to 16% compared to multi-layer perceptron classifier. Furthermore, the combined use of Perm-Maps and federated logic allows dealing with unbalanced training datasets with low computational efforts

Effects of Force Level and Hand Dominance on Bilateral Transfer of a Fine Motor Skill

Our research is about bilateral transfer, a concept in motor learning where skills learned by one limb are "transferred", allowing the opposite limb to benefit from what was learned by the first limb. Previous research into bilateral transfer has raised questions about whether specific aspects of motor coordination are or are not transferred. We wanted to see whether learning to control pinch force by the thumb and index finger is transferable, and if it is, whether the learning transfers equally from either hand. We also want to look into the effects of different force levels on the degree of transfer. We designed a task using a program that takes force levels as inputs and has the participant trace shapes on a screen. By having participants perform with one hand, then practice with the other, and finally perform again with the initial hand, we can measure transfer as the difference in performance before and after practice with the other hand.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

correction formula approach to evaluate fatigue damage induced by non gaussian stress state

Abstract In the present paper the authors define an original analytical expression of a corrective coefficient to evaluate fatigue damage induced by a non-Gaussian stress state affected by high Kurtosis (values higher than 5) and by zero Skewness. This approach starts from a previous activity in which the authors solved an analogous problem but for light non-Gaussian stress states (Kurtosis value less than 5). The proposed procedure assumes to know the fatigue damage induced by Gaussian equivalent stress state time domain process. This characteristic allows the proposed procedure to be easily adopted inside the so-called Frequency Domain Fatigue Methods but in parallel with the statistical analysis of the system time domain response (Kurtosis and Skewness evaluation). Interesting considerations about its applicability will be proposed as concerns the non-Gaussianity and non-Stationarity of the inputs when the system is a flexible component excited in its frequency range

evaluation of fatigue damage with an energy criterion of simple implementation

Abstract Many theoretical methods for multiaxial fatigue life prediction are present in literature, most of them based on their effectiveness on knowledge of the entire stress time history. This represents the great applicative limit. The incapacity to study real situations, not only deterministic one, let the authors to develop a simple and rigorous criterion, which helps the designer who works in this area. The criterion is presented focusing the attention on the basic premise, highlighting its applicability, its practicality and its computational power. To do that, the Authors take into account the deterministic or random character of the individual constraint components and their degree of correlation. In order to verify the method, simulations of multiaxial loads conditions, developed in the time domain, will be carried out with various correlation levels between the stress components on which the method will be applied

fatigue life extimation of a military aircraft structure subjected to random loads

Abstract The suspension system of external stores of a military aircraft has reached the fatigue life limit estimated during the design phase, however, some elements suggest that the duration of the structure has been largely underestimated. This work aims to re-evaluate the fatigue life of the system and the potential extension of its use following an experimental numerical approach where, starting from a series of experimental flights in which the structure was instrumented, the forces acting on the system were calculated. Therefore, a methodology was developed to limit the damage calculation time using a hybrid approach that exploits the advantages deriving from the low computational burden typical of the methods in the frequency domain coupled with the Rainflow Counting precision. The study, although penalized by a series of conservative hypotheses, allowed to estimate a residual life equal to past life. It also provided important feedback on the field of application of advanced techniques for estimating the fatigue life of aeronautical structures subjected to random loading stories

High-Resolution Ultrasound Spectroscopy for the Determination of Phospholipid Transitions in Liposomal Dispersions

High-resolution ultrasound spectroscopy (HR-US) is a spectroscopic technique using ultrasound waves at high frequencies to investigate the structural properties of dispersed materials. This technique is able to monitor the variation of ultrasound parameters (sound speed and attenuation) due to the interaction of ultrasound waves with samples as a function of temperature and concentration. Despite being employed for the characterization of several colloidal systems, there is a lack in the literature regarding the comparison between the potential of HR-US for the determination of phospholipid thermal transitions and that of other common techniques both for loaded or unloaded liposomes. Thermal transitions of liposomes composed of pure phospholipids (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, DMPC; dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, DPPC and distearoylphosphatidylcholine, DSPC), cholesterol and their mixtures were investigated by HR-US in comparison to the most commonly employed microcalorimetry (mDSC) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Moreover, tramadol hydrochloride, caffeine or miconazole nitrate as model drugs were loaded in DPPC liposomes to study the effect of their incorporation on thermal properties of a phospholipid bilayer. HR-US provided the determination of phospholipid sol-gel transition temperatures from both attenuation and sound speed that are comparable to those calculated by mDSC and DLS techniques for all analysed liposomal dispersions, both loaded and unloaded. Therefore, HR-US is proposed here as an alternative technique to determine the transition temperature of phospholipid membrane in liposomes