Comparative Analysis of three Growth Medium for Arthrospira platensis Cultivation based on Lab-Scale Results

Arthrospira platensis is a rich source of essential amino acids, vitamins and it is used as a feedstock for energy sources. The high cost of the growth medium used in its cultivation is a problem for increasing the production viability. The present study aimed to compare the technical viability and the cost elementsin different growth medium for A. platensis cultivation. For that purpose, it was proposed the use of three different growth medium, named as M1, M2 and M3 in a lab scale. The growth of the treatments presented a microbial process with characteristic phases. M1, M2 and M3 maximum concentration (Xmax), productivity (Px) and the maximum specific growth rate (μmax) showed no significant difference among treatments. However, M3 presented the lowest cost element, about 45.75% less than the M1 and 38.92% lower than M2. Therefore, the comparison enabled the result that M3 presented the best performance to be used, thus increasing profitability of this production in a lab-scale analysis

Men who were thin during early adulthood exhibited greater weight gain‐associated visceral fat accumulation in a study of middle‐aged Japanese men

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the relationship between weight gain from early adulthood and visceral fat accumulation.MethodsThe participants were 549 men aged 42 to 64 years who were randomly selected from the local resident registry for the National Institute for Longevity Sciences\u27 neighbourhood. They were asked to recall their weight at 18 years of age, and then, post‐18 weight‐change values were calculated for each participant (their current weight minus their weight at 18). The participants were divided according to their median body mass index (BMI) at 18 years of age (initial BMI) (<20.14 and ≥20.14 kg m−2). Visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) were measured on computed tomography scans.ResultsThe participants with initial BMI of <20.14 kg m−2 exhibited greater post‐18 weight changes than those with initial BMI of ≥20.14 kg m−2. The participants\u27 post‐18 weight‐change values were negatively correlated with their initial BMI and positively correlated with both VFA and SFA. The slope of the regression line for the relationship between post‐18 weight change and VFA was steeper in the participants with initial BMI of <20.14 kg m−2 (β = 4.36) than in those with initial BMI of ≥20.14 kg m−2 (β = 3.23).ConclusionsVisceral fat accumulation is affected not only by an individual\u27s post‐18 weight gain but also by their initial BMI. Men who were thin in early adulthood experienced greater weight gain‐associated VFA increases, but the same was not true for SFA

Coronary artery disease, left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction are associated with stroke in patients affected by persistent non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a case-control study

Persistent non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke, and its rate is expected to rise because of the ageing population. The absolute rate of stroke depends on age and comorbidity. Risk stratification for stroke in patients with NVAF derives from populations enrolled in randomized clinical trials. However, participants in clinical trials are often not representative of the general population. Many stroke risk stratification scores have been used, but they do not include transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), pulsate wave Doppler (PWD) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), simple and non- invasive diagnostic tools. The role of TTE, PWD and TDI findings has not been previously determined. Our study goal was to determine the association between TTE and PWD findings and stroke prevalence in a population of NVAF prone outpatients

Electron paramagnetic resonance and other properties of hydrogenases isolated from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (strain Hildenborough) and Megasphaera elsdenii

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65872/1/j.1432-1033.1983.tb07727.x.pd

Day Napping and Short Night Sleeping Are Associated With Higher Risk of Diabetes in Older Adults

OBJECTIVE—To examine whether day napping or short night sleeping is associated with higher risk of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This was a prospective study of hours of day napping and night sleeping assessed in 1996–1997 in relation to diabetes diagnosed between 2000 and 2006 (n = 10,143) among 174,542 participants in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI were derived from multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS—Longer day napping was associated with a higher risk of diabetes. After adjustment for potential confounders, ORs were 1.23 (95% CI 1.18–1.29) for those reporting <1 h and 1.55 (95% CI 1.45–1.66) for those reporting ≥1 h of napping compared with individuals who did not nap ($P_{trend}$ < 0.0001). For night sleeping, with 7–8 h as the referent, the OR was 1.46 (95% CI 1.31–1.63) for <5 h, 1.11 (1.06–1.16) for 5–6 h, and 1.11 (0.99–1.24) for ≥9 h. In both analyses, additional adjustment for BMI only modestly attenuated the associations. Further analysis showed a statistically significant interaction between hours of napping and sleeping on diabetes ($P_{interaction}$ < 0.0001). Among participants with no napping, only short night sleeping was associated with higher occurrence of diabetes, whereas among those with ≥1 h of napping, both long and short sleeping was associated with higher risk. CONCLUSIONS—Day napping and short night sleeping are associated with higher risk of diabetes. The association between sleep duration and diabetes may be modified by napping habit

OCT1 polymorphism is associated with response and survival time in anti-Parkinsonian drug users

Substrates for the Organic Cation Transporter 1, encoded by the SLC22A1 gene, are metformin, amantadine, pramipexole, and, possibly, levodopa. Recently, we identified that the rs622342 A > C polymorphism is associated with the HbA1c lowering effect in metformin users. In the Rotterdam Study, we associated this polymorphism with higher prescribed doses of all anti-Parkinsonian drugs. Between the first and fifth prescriptions for levodopa, for each minor rs622342 C allele, the prescribed doses were 0.34 defined daily dose higher (95% CI 0.064, 0.62; p = 0.017). The mortality ratio after start of levodopa therapy was 1.47 times higher (95% CI 1.01, 2.13; p = 0.045)

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP Survey: Overview and Survey Design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2m Subaru telescope on the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg$^2$ in five broad bands ($grizy$), with a $5\,\sigma$ point-source depth of $r \approx 26$. The Deep layer covers a total of 26~deg$^2$ in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg$^2$). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. Corrected for a typo in the coordinates of HSC-Wide spring equatorial field in Table

Meditation on the Soles of the Feet Practice Provides Some Control of Aggression for Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects cognition, mental and physical health, and functionality of older people. As the disease progresses from the mild to moderate stage, there is a concomitant increase in several behavioral variables, chiefly agitation, anger, and aggression. Currently, there are no evidence-based treatments for these behaviors in this population. Three individuals with moderate Alzheimer’s disease were taught an informal mindfulness practice, meditation on the Soles of the Feet (SoF), as a self-management strategy within a multiple-baseline design across participants. All three were able to learn and use the SoF practice to manage their verbal and physical aggression. Their use of the SoF practice was correlated with decreased perceived psychological stress for their spouses and caregivers, as well as for the participants, but to a much smaller degree. In terms of social validity, the participants, their spouses, and caregivers rated the SoF practice as acceptable, effective, with no unintended effects, and indicated that they would recommend the practice to others. However, they also rated SoF as effortful for the participants because it involves the participants remembering to use the practice with rising anger, a requirement particularly challenging for those with memory problems. The SoF practice may enable individuals in the early stages of dementia to manage their anger and aggression. The data were derived from an internally valid experimental design, suggestive of initial proof-of-concept, but needs to be replicated before any clinical implications can be imputed from this study