772 research outputs found
Change in fatty liver status and 5-year risk of incident metabolic syndrome: a retrospective cohort study
INTRODUCTION: Fatty liver is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) but it may also occur without MetS. Whether resolution of fatty liver in the general population affects risk of MetS is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether a change in fatty liver status (either the development of new fatty liver or the resolution of existing fatty liver) would modify the risk of de novo MetS.METHODS:Two thousand eighty-nine people without hypertension, diabetes, and MetS were examined at baseline and at 5-year follow-up using a retrospective cohort study design. Fatty liver status was assessed at baseline and at follow-up by ultrasonography. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for de novo MetS at follow-up were calculated controlling for the potential confounders, compared to the reference group (people who never had fatty liver at baseline and follow-up).RESULTS:During follow-up, fatty liver developed in 251 people and fatty liver resolved in 112 people. After the adjustment for multiple confounders, persisting fatty liver and incident fatty liver development were associated with de novo MetS, with aHR of 2.60 (95 % CIs [1.61,4.20]) and 3.31 (95 % CIs [1.99,5.51]), respectively. Risk of new MetS in resolved fatty liver group was attenuated with insignificant aHR of 1.29 accompanying 95 % CIs of 0.60 and 2.80.DISCUSSION:Development or maintenance of fatty liver is positively associated with occurrence of new MetS. Resolution of fatty liver status has similar risk of de novo MetS with those who never had fatty liver. Therefore, cautious management is needed with those with fatty liver
Indigenous sharing, collaboration and synchronous learning
Online learning is progressively accepted in Indigenous communities with the realized potential for sharing, collaboration and learning for adults living in remote and isolated communities. This study used a design-based research approach that provided opportunity to integrate the current literature, literacy practitioners\u27 views and community members\u27 self identified literacy needs to generate ten draft guiding principles which guided this study. A collaborative community engagement project was created by the community members in consideration of these principles and presented in three iterations in a synchronous environment which will lead to design-based principles for working with technology and Indigenous communities. This paper examines the framework and approach for this study, provides a short literature review and presents the draft guiding principles drawn from data collected from the stakeholders and from which the project was created
TEM Study on the Evolution of Ge Nanocrystals in Si Oxide Matrix as a Function of Ge Concentration and the Si Reduction Process
Growth and evolution of germanium (Ge) nanocrystals embedded into a silicon oxide (SiOâ) system have been studied based on the Ge content of co-sputtered Ge-SiOâ films using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that when the proportion of Ge relative to Ge oxide is 20%, TEM showed that annealing the samples at 800°C for 60 min resulted in the formation of a denuded region between the silicon/silicon oxide (Si/SiOâ) interface and a band of Ge nanocrystals towards the surface of the film. By introducing a 20nm thick thermal oxide barrier on top of the silicon (Si) substrate on which the film is deposited, no denuded region in the bulk of this sample is observed. It is proposed that this barrier is effective in reducing both Ge diffusion into the Si substrate and Si diffusion from the substrate into the film. Si diffusing from the Si substrate reduces the Ge oxide into Ge which can subsequently diffuse into the Si substrate. However, the oxide barrier is able to confine the Ge within the oxide matrix so that the denuded region in the bulk of the film cannot form. However the reduction in diffusion should be more significant for Ge as its diffusion coefficient is lower than Si due to its larger size. It is suggested that the denuded region consists of amorphous Ge diffusing towards the Si/SiOâ interface. When the Ge content is increased to slightly more than 70%, TEM showed that Ge nanocrysyals formed after annealing at 800°C for only 30 min for samples with and without the oxide barrier. There is no denuded region between the Ge nanocrystals band and the Si/SiOâ interface for both samples but it was observed that coarsening effects were more prominent in the film deposited on top of the oxide barrier. The reduction effect of Si on Ge oxide should not play a significant role in these samples as the Ge content is high.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA
Resveratrol affects histone 3 lysine 27 methylation of vessels and blood biomarkers in DOCA salt-induced hypertension
Hypertension is a risk factor for the cardiovascular diseases. Although, several drugs are used to treat hypertension, the success of the antihypertensive therapy is limited. Resveratrol decreases blood pressure in animal models of hypertension. This study researched the mechanisms behind the effects of resveratrol on hypertension. Hypertension was induced by using the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-induced (15 mg/kg twice per week, subcutaneously) salt-sensitive hypertension model of Wistar rats. Hypertension caused a decrease in endothelium-dependent relaxations of the isolated thoracic aorta. Resveratrol treatment (50 mg/l in drinking water) prevented DOCA salt-induced hypertension, but did not improve endothelial dysfunction. Plasma nitric oxide (NO), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels were not changed by DOCA salt application. However, treatment of resveratrol significantly decreased ADMA and increased TAC and H2S levels. NO level in circulation was not significantly changed by resveratrol. DOCA salt application and resveratrol treatment also caused an alteration in the epigenetic modification of vessels. Staining pattern of histone 3 lysine 27 methylation (H3K27me3) in the aorta and renal artery sections was changed. These results show that preventive effect of resveratrol on DOCA salt-induced hypertension might due to its action on the production of some blood biomarkers and the epigenetic modification of vessels that would focus upon new aspect of hypertension prevention and treatment. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Data Mining Approaches to Diffuse Large BâCell Lymphoma Gene Expression Data Interpretation
This paper presents a comprehensive study of gene expression patterns originating from a diffuse large Bâcell lymphoma (DLBCL) database. It focuses on the implementation of feature selection and classification techniques. Thus, it firstly tackles the identification of relevant genes for the prediction of DLBCL types. It also allows the determination of key biomarkers to differentiate two subtypes of DLBCL samples: Activated BâLike and Germinal Centre BâLike DLBCL. Decision trees provide knowledgeâbased models to predict types and subtypes of DLBCL. This research suggests that the data may be insufficient to accurately predict DLBCL types or even detect functionally relevant genes. However, these methods represent reliable and understandable tools to start thinking about possible interesting nonâlinear interdependencies
Polyubiquitin binding to ABIN1 is required to prevent autoimmunity
The protein ABIN1 possesses a polyubiquitin-binding domain homologous to that present in nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) essential modulator (NEMO), a component of the inhibitor of NF-kappa B (I kappa B) kinase (IKK) complex. To address the physiological significance of polyubiquitin binding, we generated knockin mice expressing the ABIN1[D485N] mutant instead of the wild-type (WT) protein. These mice developed all the hallmarks of autoimmunity, including spontaneous formation of germinal centers, isotype switching, and production of autoreactive antibodies. Autoimmunity was suppressed by crossing to MyD88(-/-) mice, demonstrating that toll-like receptor (TLR)-MyD88 signaling pathways are needed for the phenotype to develop. The B cells and myeloid cells of the ABIN1[D485N] mice showed enhanced activation of the protein kinases TAK, IKK-alpha/beta, c-Jun N-terminal kinases, and p38 alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase and produced more IL-6 and IL-12 than WT. The mutant B cells also proliferated more rapidly in response to TLR ligands. Our results indicate that the interaction of ABIN1 with polyubiquitin is required to limit the activation of TLR-MyD88 pathways and prevent autoimmunity
Microlensing as a probe of the Galactic structure; 20 years of microlensing optical depth studies
Microlensing is now a very popular observational astronomical technique. The
investigations accessible through this effect range from the dark matter
problem to the search for extra-solar planets. In this review, the techniques
to search for microlensing effects and to determine optical depths through the
monitoring of large samples of stars will be described. The consequences of the
published results on the knowledge of the Milky-Way structure and its dark
matter component will be discussed. The difficulties and limitations of the
ongoing programs and the perspectives of the microlensing optical depth
technique as a probe of the Galaxy structure will also be detailed.Comment: Accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitation.
General Relativity and Gravitation in press (2010) 0
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Demand Response and Open Automated Demand Response Opportunities for Data Centers
This study examines data center characteristics, loads, control systems, and technologies to identify demand response (DR) and automated DR (Open Auto-DR) opportunities and challenges. The study was performed in collaboration with technology experts, industrial partners, and data center facility managers and existing research on commercial and industrial DR was collected and analyzed. The results suggest that data centers, with significant and rapidly growing energy use, have significant DR potential. Because data centers are highly automated, they are excellent candidates for Open Auto-DR. 'Non-mission-critical' data centers are the most likely candidates for early adoption of DR. Data center site infrastructure DR strategies have been well studied for other commercial buildings; however, DR strategies for information technology (IT) infrastructure have not been studied extensively. The largest opportunity for DR or load reduction in data centers is in the use of virtualization to reduce IT equipment energy use, which correspondingly reduces facility cooling loads. DR strategies could also be deployed for data center lighting, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Additional studies and demonstrations are needed to quantify benefits to data centers of participating in DR and to address concerns about DR's possible impact on data center performance or quality of service and equipment life span
Isospin influences on particle emission and critical phenomenon in nuclear dissociation
Features of particle emission and critical point behavior are investigated as
functions of the isospin of disassembling sources and temperature at a moderate
freeze-out density for medium-size Xe isotopes in the framework of isospin
dependent lattice gas model. Multiplicities of emitted light particles,
isotopic and isobaric ratios of light particles show the strong dependence on
the isospin of the dissociation source, but double ratios of light isotope
pairs and the critical temperature determined by the extreme values of some
critical observables are insensitive to the isospin of the systems. Values of
the power law parameter of cluster mass distribution, mean multiplicity of
intermediate mass fragments (), information entropy () and Campi's
second moment () also show a minor dependence on the isospin of Xe
isotopes at the critical point. In addition, the slopes of the average
multiplicites of the neutrons (), protons (), charged particles
(), and IMFs (), slopes of the largest fragment mass number
(), and the excitation energy per nucleon of the disassembling source
() to temperature are investigated as well as variances of the
distributions of , , , , and . It
is found that they can be taken as additional judgements to the critical
phenomena.Comment: 9 Pages, 8 figure
Performance of the CREAM calorimeter in accelerator beam test
The CREAM calorimeter, designed to measure the spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei from under 1 TeV to 1000 TeV, is a 20 radiation length (X0) deep sampling calorimeter. The calorimeter is comprised of 20 layers of tungsten interleaved with 20 layers of scintillating fiber ribbons, and is preceded by a pair of graphite interaction targets providing about 0.42 proton interaction lengths (\lambda int). The calorimeter was placed in one of CERN's SPS accelerator beams for calibration and testing. Beams of 150 GeV electrons were used for calibration, and a variety of electron, proton, and nuclear fragment beams were used to test the simulation model of the detector. In this paper we discuss the performance of the calorimeter in the electron beam and compare electron beam data with simulation results.The CREAM calorimeter, designed to measure the spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei from under 1 TeV to 1000 TeV, is a 20 radiation length (X0) deep sampling calorimeter. The calorimeter is comprised of 20 layers of tungsten interleaved with 20 layers of scintillating fiber ribbons, and is preceded by a pair of graphite interaction targets providing about 0.42 proton interaction lengths (\lambda int). The calorimeter was placed in one of CERN's SPS accelerator beams for calibration and testing. Beams of 150 GeV electrons were used for calibration, and a variety of electron, proton, and nuclear fragment beams were used to test the simulation model of the detector. In this paper we discuss the performance of the calorimeter in the electron beam and compare electron beam data with simulation results
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